The conflict between the Polish government and the president over two former members of the expelled national-conservative PiS government convicted of abuse of office continues to simmer. Head of State Andrzej Duda, a former PiS member, has now pardoned former State Secretary Maciej Wasik and former Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński for the second time.
The two should be released from prison with immediate effect, Duda said in Warsaw on Tuesday. The two politicians were arrested on January 9 and taken to prison after initially seeking protection in the presidential palace. The PiS describes the two as “political prisoners”.
Kamiński and Wasik were sentenced to two years in prison for abuse of office by a district court in Warsaw in December after an appeal. Duda pardoned the two after an initial trial in 2015.
Concerns about the health of hunger strikers
However, the Supreme Court declared this pardon unlawful, because the appeal procedure was still ongoing at that time. Duda emphasized again on Tuesday that the 2015 pardon is still valid in his view.
Kaminski has been on hunger strike since the start of his detention. According to Duda, his health is bad.
Source: Krone
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