Regulations committee in the Ziobro case
Zbigniew Ziobro did not appear on Thursday at the meeting of the regulations committee regarding the waiver of his immunity. At that time, the MP was in Hungary, in Budapest. The former minister announced that he wanted to return to the country, but decided not to do so because he received information about a “provocation” related to his detention.
The committee meeting itself started at 16 and had a turbulent course. There was a tension between its chairman, Jarosław Urbaniak from KO, and PiS MPs Anita Czerwińska and Joanna Borowiak, because the MPs did not want to confirm receipt of the form of the application under consideration.
When will the Sejm vote on Zbigniew Ziobro take place?
How many crimes has Zbigniew Ziobro committed?
Why did Zbigniew Ziobro not appear at the committee meeting?
What do PiS politicians think about the regulations committee's decision?
During the meeting, there was also a clash between PiS politicians and others present in the room – MPs from Jarosław Kaczyński's party shouted provocative slogans, including: towards MP Tomasz Zimoch or Prosecutor Piotr Woźniak, head of Investigation Team No. 2 of the National Prosecutor's Office.
Meanwhile, PiS MP Andrzej Śliwka, acting as Ziobro's defender during the meeting, said that the accusations against the former Minister of Justice “are probably made of bread and saliva.” He also argued that the actions of the former head of the Ministry of Justice within the Justice Fund were legal, and the case itself was a “political stunt.”
Meanwhile, presenting the prosecutor's motion, Prosecutor Piotr Woźniak emphasized that the evidence collected in the case is very extensive, based on the testimonies of witnesses, explanations of suspects, as well as people who have already been legally convicted. He also explained that Ziobro had committed 26 crimes and indicated that pre-trial detention should be imposed because “there is a justified fear of being cheated by the suspect.”
Finally, on Thursday evening, the commission recommended the lifting of Zbigniew Ziobro's immunity in respect of all 26 charges and the detention and arrest of the MP. Later, its chairman, Jarosław Urbaniak, presented this recommendation to the Sejm. As he emphasized: – This is something special in the history of Polish parliamentarism. The request to waive Zbigniew Ziobro's immunity is unprecedented because for the first time it concerns a former minister of justice who was accused of leading a criminal group. This has never happened before in history.
Comments after the decision of the regulations committee
Zbigniew Ziobro, PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński, as well as politicians and MPs spoke on the decision of the parliamentary rules committee.
The former Minister of Justice assessed that the committee meeting was demagogy and manipulation, instead of facts and law. He further stated that he had not applied for political asylum in Hungary. — I did not apply for political asylum in Hungary. I'm not here because I left Poland, I just found out that the prosecutor's office decided to formulate a false request to waive my immunity. A conference on the rule of law in the European Union had been planned for many weeks and I was one of the guests, he said on Thursday evening.
The president of PiS, Jarosław Kaczyński, criticized in strong words the decision of the regulations committee regarding the immunity of Zbigniew Ziobro. “The allegations, written in thin air, without legal basis, on political orders, are created and presented by those who have been promoted and benefit from the current government,” he said. As he announced, “justice is yet to come.”
Voting in the Sejm on Friday
As announced by Szymon Hołownia, the vote on the motion to waive Ziobro's immunity and his detention and temporary arrest will take place on Friday.
The prosecutor's office wants to accuse the former minister of leading an organized criminal group and using his position for criminal activities. Ziobro allegedly committed a total of 26 crimes, including: give orders to his subordinates to break the law in order to provide selected entities with subsidies from the Justice Fund, interfere in the preparation of competition offers and allow funds to be awarded to entities that are not authorized to do so.
Donald Trump announced that Kazakhstan has joined the Abraham Accords, which regulate relations between Israel and Muslim-majority countries. The leaders of the US and Kazakhstan discussed this issue with Binyamin Netanyahu.
According to CNN, a package containing a suspicious substance was delivered to the Andrews military base in Maryland. After its opening, the building and the neighboring facility were evacuated and several people became ill and were transported to the hospital located on the base.
What will happen on Friday?
In addition to voting on the motion to waive the immunity and the detention and provisional arrest of Zbigniew Ziobro, on the last day of the Sejm session, MPs will also deal with the government's motion to consent to extending the temporary limitation of the right to submit an application for international protection on the border between Poland and Belarus, as well as the first reading of the government's project providing for mining companies to be allowed to gradually close down mines with financial support from the state.
At The Senate will resume its deliberations at 10 a.m. – the agenda includes a vote on changing the chamber's rules of procedure.
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz will visit Italy, where he will meet his Italian counterpart, the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Guido Crosetto.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will visit Washington, where he will meet Donald Trump. Topics of discussion will include the war in Ukraine and American sanctions on Russian energy companies.
