Adam Bodnar has announced a “review of politically motivated prosecutions between 2015 and 2023” says the Justice Minister’s open letter to Lech Wałęsa. The head of the Ministry of Justice stressed that the actions of prosecutors during the Law and Justice (PiS) rule were a regular feature of his work at the ministry, but that a full analysis and “rehabilitation of the victims” would be a “time-consuming challenge”.
The text of Adam Bodnar’s open letter to Lech Wałęsa appeared on the website of the Ministry of Justice late on Thursday evening.
The letter is a response to the former president’s appeal to the head of the Ministry of Justice and the prosecutor general to “review politically motivated prosecutions between 2015 and 2023 and to rehabilitate the victims”.
Adam Bodnar wrote a letter to Lech Wałęsa. He announced an analysis of politically motivated proceedings.
Adam Bodnar wrote that he is treating the former anti-communist opposition leader’s appeal “with the utmost seriousness, as it is signed by citizens and NGOs whose unquestionable authority in society, as well as their achievements in the fight for the standards of the rule of law and the protection of human rights during the rule of Law and Justice (PiS) party, are worthy of the highest praise”.
The Justice Minister accepted the appeal “with humility” because the topic raised in the appeal is of “great importance” to him.
“I fully share the conviction that there is a need for an effective review and analysis of cases where there is any suspicion that they may have been politically motivated,” the open letter reads.
The head of the Interior Ministry assessed that analysing the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office during the eight-year rule of the United Right was a “time-consuming challenge” because they affected many social groups as well as private individuals.
Long list of those “repressed” by the PiS government
Among those affected and “repressed” by the Law and Justice government, Adam Bodnar named, among others, representatives of the LGBTQ+ community, organisers of the Equality Marches, members of ethnic and national minorities, as well as organisations supporting refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border, journalists investigating irregularities in the activities of politicians in power, opposition politicians, entrepreneurs and participants of street protests.
“My main goal, which guarantees the unbiased investigation of the cases mentioned in the public appeal, is the complete depoliticisation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and to deprive it of its instrumental character that ensures impunity for the authorities,” said the head of the Justice Ministry.
Adam Bodnar stressed that one of the main goals on the way to clarify all these cases is to separate the functions of the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General, in order to “curb the political influence on the work of the prosecutors”.
“Each case must be examined individually”
“Each case must be examined individually, independently, based on the legal standard and an assessment of the grounds for bringing the case, as well as the evidence collected on it. Prosecutors conducting these examinations should be aware that the new Prosecutor’s Offices guard their independence,” Bodnar emphasised.
The Minister assured Lech Wałęsa and the other signatories to the appeal that he and the entire government would remain “extremely determined” to fulfil the demands contained in the appeal.
“I am fully confident that our mission as a public authority rests on the public trust expressed by many worthy and respected people and organisations,” concluded the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General.
Source: interia.pl
In other media:
- TVN24: Minister Bodnar supports review of “politically motivated prosecutions” (February 16, 2024)
- Rzeczpospolita: Bodnar’s open letter to Wałęsa on investigations from PiS days (February 16, 2024)
- Forsal: Bodnar responds to ‘politically motivated prosecutions’ (February 16, 2024)
- PAP: Minister Bodnar responds to authors of public appeal (February 15, 2024)
- Onet: Open letter. Bodnar responds to public appeal for review of “politically motivated prosecutions” (February 15, 2024)
