The Internal Security Agency detained Bartosz Kramek on the order of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin. “We regard this as another act of political persecution of the Foundation by institutions subordinated to the PiS party,” commented the Open Dialogue Foundation.
The Foundation has announced that Bartosz Kramek was detained on June 23 by order of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin. “The nature of the allegations indicates that the arrest is related to the activities of the ODF. We regard this as another act of political persecution of the Foundation by institutions subordinate to the PiS party,” commented the organisation.
Bartosz Kramek detained by the Internal Security Agency
The Foundation stressed that Lyudmyla Kozlovska’s husband flew to Poland on Tuesday for a subsequent hearing in the case of protection of personal rights against Wojciech Biedroń. “As ODF, we are not just defending ourselves. We have already started a counter-offensive a long time ago by filing about 20 lawsuits against PiS politicians and the propaganda centres supporting them,” the Foundation’s representatives add.
The Open Dialogue Foundation points out that “they “have been targeted by the power camp for criticising those in power since 2017”. The National Security Agency has been analysing the organisation’s finances since 2018. “There are also a number of proceedings against us by other government agencies. So far, all of them have been settled in our favour. And it will be so now. We operate legally. We will not be intimidated,” concludes the ODF.
Lyudmyla Kozlovska on her husband’s arrest
Kozlovska told Onet that her husband has been detained for 48 hours, but the detention could be extended due to an alleged escape threat. “PiS has been trying to separate us since 2018 and deliberately banned me from entering Poland. Now, by arresting Bartek, they know that I won’t be able to be there to defend him. This is exactly what authoritarian dictators do,” says Kozlovska.
TVP Info reports that the investigation in Kramek’s case concerns irregularities in money transfers to the Open Dialogue Foundation. The Customs and Revenue Office in Łódź investigated what taxes the organisation paid for 2014–2016. The spokesman for the Minister Coordinator of Special Services Stanisław Żaryn explained that Kramek is suspected of false statements and money laundering. The list of donors in the official documentation was said not to correspond to reality.
Source: wprost.pl