“Political prisoner”. Former Polish minister on hunger strike after arrest

O Former Polish Interior Minister and Law and Justice (PiS) party MP Mariusz Kaminski began a hunger strike after being detained at the official residence of the Polish president Andrzej Duda, on Tuesday night. The basis for the detention was a conviction for abuse of power while serving in government.

“I declare that I consider my conviction as an act of political revenge”he said in a statement, read by his former assistant, Blazej Pobozy, at a press conference this Wednesday.

“As a political prisoner, I began a hunger strike from the first day of my imprisonment”he added.

In the note, the former minister demanded the “immediate release from prison of all members of the former management of the Polish Anti-Corruption Agency covered by the act of clemency issued in 2015 by the President of the Republic of Poland”.

PiS MP @Kaminski_M_ he started a hunger protest in prison. #FreePoliticalPrisoners
Below is the statement he addressed to the Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar pic.twitter.com/MpWpg0sM2r

— Law and Justice (@pisorgpl) January 10, 2024

Mariusz Kaminski and his then deputy minister, Maciej Wasik, were detained by the police, after taking refuge in President Andrzej Duda’s residence. At issue was the fact that a court denied requests to suspend the legal proceedings they were facing, so that they could maintain parliamentary immunity and their seats.

The former minister was convicted of abuse of power during the period he headed the Polish Anti-Corruption Agency. In 2015 he was pardoned by Duda, shortly after PiS took power.

However, the Supreme Court ruled last year that the sentence should be reviewed and the former minister was again convicted and banned from holding political office for five years, something Kaminski refused to comply with.

After the police confirmed the existence of an arrest warrant, the former ruler accused the agents of entering his home and “disturbing his family”, then heading to the presidential palace, accompanied by Maciej Wasik.

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