Prosecutor Dariusz Barski, one of the closest associates of former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, received the verdict on Friday. Letter from Attorney General Adam Bodnar, stating that he was no longer a national prosecutor. The website DoRzeczy.pl published a video of the entire incident. The new government's attempt to take over the prosecutor's office caused a lot of agitation and raised the temperature of the political dispute in the country.
Bodnar justified his decision in 2022 by wrongly reinstating Barski in the active prosecutor's office. The minister's decision caused a protest by Barski's deputies, who accused Bodnar of violating the law.
On Friday, the Ministry of Justice announced that Jacek Bilevich was appointed as acting national prosecutor. The statement of the National Prosecutor's Office states that Dariush Barski is still its head.
President's move
On Monday, President Andrzej Duda met with Prime Minister Donald Tusk. One of the topics discussed at the meeting was the situation in the prosecutor's office. The president emphasized that no one consulted him on the dismissal of Barski, which is a clear violation of the law.
On the same day, the Office of the President announced that Andrzej Duda submitted a request to the Constitutional Tribunal to resolve the competence dispute between the President of the Republic of Poland, the Prime Minister and the Prosecutor General. As the statement emphasizes, this is a response to the illegal attempt to “illegally remove Dariusz Barski from the post of National Prosecutor” and appoint a new deputy.