Polish prosecution drops case against Bartosz Kramek. End of politically motivated criminal proceedings

15 December 2024 | Author: Editorial office

On 21 November 2024, the Lublin Regional Prosecutor’s Office closed and later on 6 December discontinued the politically motivated case under the reference RP I Ds 34.2018 against Bartosz Kramek – Chair of Supervisory Board at the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF). The decision was justified by the fact that the collected “evidence did not provide grounds for an indictment”.

The investigation was closed after seven years after being initiated in August 2017, following the publication of Bartosz Kramek’s text on civil disobedience in defence of the independence of the Polish judiciary. The notification was brought to the prosecutor’s office by, among others, the Law and Justice MP at the time Dominik Tarczynski (currently an MEP). As of the end of 2018, the case was handled by Prosecutor Marcin Kołodziejczyk and the Internal Security Agency (ABW), being supervised by the infamous Lublin Regional ProsecutorJerzy Ziarkiewicz and National Prosecutor Bogdan Święczkowski – one of the closest associates of the then-Minister of Justice – Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro.

This malicious prosecution, conducted in multiple directions, concerned at its various stages, among others, alleged incitement to commit a crime (including a coup d’état), acting to the detriment of the Śródmieście District of the City of Warsaw, vaguely specified financial offences, subjecting Ukrainian soldiers to loss of health and life by providing them with substandard protective equipment, and conducting an illegal fundraiser for a bail.

In June 2021, Bartosz Kramek was detained by several agents of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) and charged with making false statements and money laundering between 2012 and 2016 in connection with the activities of his company Silk Road Biuro Analiz i Informacji. Kramek plead not guilty and made a statement that the case was politically motivated. He refused to provide explanations to the prosecutor and opted instead to do so in court, where the prosecution submitted a request for pre-trial detention.

The Lublin-Zachód District Court decided to release Bartosz Kramek on a bail of PLN 300 000. However, the prosecution opposed this decision, and under new provisions designed by Z. Ziobro, our colleague had to wait in custody for the court to consider the objection under second instance.

On 15 July 2021, Bartosz Kramek was released from custody in Lublin after three weeks, after the court of appeal rejected the prosecution’s objection. The bail was posted in solidarity by family members, friends, activists, and journalists who saw the actions against Kramek as another stage in the conflict between the Open Dialog Foundation (ODF) and the government at the time formed by the Law and Justice party and its minor coalition partners. Personal guarantees in defence of our colleague were submitted by dozens of public figures – social activists, anti-communist opposition members (led by President Lech Wałęsa), academic experts, journalists, and opposition (pro-democratic) politicians (MPs and MEPs).

The activist’s detention gave rise to another wave of propaganda attacks against him and the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) by pro-government media outlets, including then-TVP and Polish Radio. Apart from the complete disregard for the presumption of innocence and the politically motivated nature of this case, they portrayed Bartosz Kramek as a criminal, which was facilitated by regular leaks of selectively chosen case materials. Despite the ardent pro-Ukrainian nature of the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF)’s activities, strenuous efforts were made to portray it as – allegedly – being financed from shady Russian sources and working to promote Russia’s interests.

Following the release from custody, the prosecution imposed drastic preventive measures against Kramek – a ban on leaving the country and daily police supervision. This constituted a particularly severe form of harassment, considering that this forced him and his wife Lyudmyla Kozlovska to remain apart from their cohabitation in Belgium. Lyudmyla Kozlovska, as a Ukrainian citizen, had been subject to an arbitrary entry ban Poland since 2018 (which was finally cancelled in 2024 after a series of court rulings). This harassment was one of the repressive measures taken against our organisation and its leaders by the then-authorities.

The above-mentioned preventive measures were lifted by court order, and groundless, on 26 October 2021, allowing Bartosz Kramek to travel to Belgium to be reunited with his wife. The court stated that ‘the prosecutor unjustifiably imposed restrictions, the measures were disproportionate and violated the principle of protection of family life’. At the hearing, prosecutor Marcin Kołodziejczyk pointed out that the imposition of harsh police supervision had been personally requested by the Prosecutor General.

Such criminal proceedings were only possible because of the unprecedented and radical level politicisation of the public prosecution, orchestrated by one of the leaders of the ruling coalition, Zbigniew Ziobro, since the end of 2015. 52 volumes and more than 10 000 pages of files have been produced in this case, hundreds of witnesses have been questioned, and numerous requests for legal assistance have been made – seeking evidence against both Kramek and ODF – including to countries such as Moldova, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

All directions pursued by the prosecution in this investigation have been finally discontinued.

The public prosecutor’s office also pointed that Kramek’s explanations submitted in October 2024 substantiated his version of events, stating “the absence of the indicators of a criminal act”. In the case of the alleged incitement to commit a crime by the publication of the text authored by Kramek, a ”semiotic-cultural” expert opinion had been drafted by Professor Małgorzata Lisowska-Magdziarz of the Jagiellonian University. She unequivocally concluded that the text was of a moderate nature, and ”does not transgress any norms or taboos here”, with its assessments being “commonly expressed in the media”, and firmly excluded any indicators of inciting violence to achieve political goals and “overthrow the government”.

The case was closed after the Law and Justice lost power following the parliamentary elections in October 2023. In 2024, a review of criminal proceedings there was ordered at the Lublin Regional Prosecutor’s Office, notorious for handling numerous politically motivated cases vital to the then-authorities, and prosecutor M. Kołodziejczyk was removed from the case. The Regional Prosecutor J. Ziarkiewicz was dismissed and suspended, while the investigation against B. Kramek was submitted to a nationwide audit of PiS-era political prosecutions conducted by the National Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In connection with the disclosure of secrecy of the criminal proceedings, on 18 December 2024, the Lublin-West District Court ordered the launch of an investigation into exceeding of authority by the prosecutor handling the case against the activist. This concerns the legally questionable release of the case files to Bartosz Lewandowski, the attorney of Patryk Jaki, a Law and Justice MEP. Patryk Jaki was sued by ODF for defamation and lost the lawsuit in April 2024.

On 20 December 2024, the Law and Justice MEP Dominik Tarczynski (who notified the prosecution of offences allegedly committed by B. Kramek) lost a defamation lawsuit brought by ODF and Lyudmyla Kozlovska. The lawsuit pertained to the dissemination of ”hurtful and false information about their participation in money laundering from Russia”.

The politically motivated nature of the proceedings was stated, i.a., in three written declarations by members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

This abusive criminal case had a strongly adverse impact on ODF’s activities, contributing to its financial exclusion (closure of bank accounts) and problems with donors facing compliance issues.

Bartosz Kramek intends to seek compensation for the wrongful, arbitrary deprivation of liberty and to hold those responsible for his prosecution liable.

Bartosz Kramek’s defence team included Radosław Baszuk, Tomasz Przeciechowski, and Professor Michał Królikowski.

In the media:

Read also: