During the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly 2023 of the Council of Europe that concluded on April 28th, our representation (Martin Mycielski and Katarzyna Szczypska) together with Judge Maciej Ferek (reinstated after 522 days of suspension for applying the primacy of European law), discussed the rule of law and political persecution in Poland and the Palestinian Authority.
During the event, we spoke to many prominent members of the Council, including representatives of the Danish delegation, representatives of the Norwegian and Finnish delegations Ingjerd Schou and Kimmo Kiljunen, as well as fierce supporters of human rights like Krzysztof Śmiszek (Poland), Constantinos Efstathiou (Cyprus), Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland) and Laura Castel Fort (Catalonia, Spain), and we highlighted the issue of the ‘original sin’ at the root of the destruction of the rule of law in Poland constantly overlooked by international institutions, as well as cases of political persecution in both Poland and the Palestinian Authority.
After intensive discussions with more than 50 MPs and with the help of Themis and IUSTITIA Judges Associations, we managed to have 4 important documents put forward:
- 2 motions for resolutions (regarding prosecution and illegal surveillance in Poland)
- 2 declarations (regarding victims of prosecution and human rights in Poland and the Palestinian Authority)
What does it mean?
- A motion for resolution, initiated by MP Krzysztof Śmiszek and supported by delegates from 14 countries, calls on the PACE to investigate the illegal surveillance of the state-owned hotel group, and put pressure on Poland to hold perpetrators like Maciej Wąsik, the head of the Interior Ministry Mariusz Kamiński, or Joachim Brudziński accountable. Signatories note, that “Polish intelligence agencies were reportedly found to be conducting illegal surveillance in state-owned hotels of Belarusian president-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Open Dialogue Foundation – a human rights NGO enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe – and democratic opposition politicians“;
- Motion for resolution, initiated by Constantinos Efstathiou, warns of Zbigniew Ziobro’s growing powers & calls on PACE & EU to look into prosecutors’ harassment of opposition, activists, journalists, and businessmen, and take them into account in EU’s dialogue with Polish authorities. “The misuse of the public prosecution to serve political and personal interests of the ruling coalition resulted in a growing number of politically-motivated criminal cases against the opposition, civil activists, journalists and entrepreneurs. Reports of harassment of business leaders, including through arbitrary detentions, indicate corruption and attempts of raidership. These cases require the Assembly’s attention, as they lead to infringements of freedom of enterprise and the fundamental right to property, and threaten foreign investments. Meanwhile, investigations exposing the abuses of the ruling coalition or threatening the personal interests of its members are obstructed or not initiated at all.” – the document reads;
- Declaration by MPs from 4 political groups and 11 countries in defence of individual and clear victims of prosecution and harassment by the prosecutor’s office and Law and Justice government, including activists (like Justyna Wydrzyńska, Angelika Domańska or Bart Staszewski), journalists (like like Piotr Maślak or Wojciech Czuchnowski), and entrepreneurs (like Piotr Osiecki, Przemysław Krych or Maciej Witucki). Signatories called on the Polish Government “to end the harassment of individuals and organisations that exercise their right to free speech, peaceful assembly and entrepreneurship, and to provide compensation for damages suffered, most notably for any arbitrary detention.”;
- Declaration initiated by Laura Castel Fort, in defence of Lawyers for Justice – an outlawed group of lawyers providing pro bono assistance to victims of repression and human rights violation by the Palestinian Intelligence Services. MEPs demanded an end to the harassment of lawyers Gandhi Al-Rubaie, Mohannad Karaje and Ghassan Banat who are seeking justice at the International Criminal Court: “We urgently call for clarification on the distribution and monitoring of financial aid by the European Union to the Palestinian Authority, ensuring that no support is provided to the intelligence services as long as human rights are not respected.”
We are proud of this success and grateful to PACE for supporting us in our fight for the rule of law and for having democracy’s back.
See our other activities for the rule of law in Poland at PACE:
- PACE adopts resolution on Poland with ODF’s amendments (February 4, 2020)
- Functioning of democratic institutions in Poland: ODF fights for a resolute PACE report (February 3, 2020)
- A delegation of the ODF attended the fourth part-session of PACE in Strasbourg (October 17, 2018)
- PACE side event: Shrinking space for civil society and persecution of human rights activists (October 8, 2018)
- ODF attends PACE Autumn Session 2018 to speak up for rule of law and human rights defenders (October 5, 2018)
- PACE new recommendations: Protecting human rights defenders and the independent work of NGOs (May 31, 2018)
- Members of the PACE launch a motion for resolution on the preservation of civil liberties in Poland, Moldova and Ukraine (January 30, 2018)
- Strasbourg: Members of PACE concerned about the rule of law, media freedom and independence of NGOs in Poland (January 30, 2018)
- “Government against the rule of law, civil society and independent media in Poland” – Invitation to an event at PACE (January 18, 2018)
Read our reports on abuses of the Polish Prosecutor’s Office:
