“I will do everything to return the freedom of MPs Kaminski and Wasik,” President Andrzej Duda said a few days ago, commenting on the fate of the most famous convicts, former party colleagues. However, there are many indications that the president does not want that to happen anytime soon. – He refused the right to pardon – says Prof. Mikolaj Maletsky from Jagiellonian University. In an interview with naTemat, the criminologist points out important differences between pardon and amnesty processes. Duda chose the latter.
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On Thursday, many non-lawyers might have thought the fight was coming to an end. Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wąsik.
in the presidential palace Andrzej Duda He is accompanied by the wives of former ministers – Barbara and Romualda. In their presence, the PiS head of state announced the start of the pardon process. Shortly before, Romualda Vasik expressed hope that “today we will see our husbands at home.”
– If Andrzej Duda wanted Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik to leave prison immediately, he would have used art. 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Then the men would be at home in a few hours – explains Prof. Nikolai Maletsky.
The law on pardon is applied by the President of the Republic of Poland. The pardon law does not apply to persons convicted by state tribunals.
Such a solution – the lawyer notes – will be quick, effective and will once and for all release Maciej Vasik and Mariusz Kaminski from serving the sentence for the crimes they were convicted of in the land scandal.
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– Instead, President Duda chose the pardon process. Unlike the amnesty act issued directly on the basis of the constitution, the prison door will not open for PiS politicians at the snap of a finger. The president has initiated a multi-stage procedure, which, if implemented seriously, will not take less than a week, the expert explains.
“The President pours on the stove”
– Andrzej Duda said that with this decision he is trying to reduce the tension regarding this issue. Meanwhile, it does the opposite. He says that he is putting out the fire, but at the same time he is turning on the stove. Emotions will heat up more and more – says Prof. Nikolai Maletsky.
What is the point of all this? – President Duda wants to politically carry out the sentence of prisoners Kaminsky and Vesik. Instead of using art. 139 of the Constitution and the immediate release of the convicts, the responsibility is transferred to Minister Bodnar. Convicted persons cannot be released immediately, because the decision must be made based on essential considerations. Moreover, the release conditions have not been met at the moment, so they should continue the sentence, says the lawyer.
Prof. The target of Malecki, Andrzej Duda, was the new Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar, who replaced Zbigniew Ziobro in these positions.
– Duda wants PiS to be able to say that Kaminski and Vesik are in prison because of Bodnar. If he really wanted to pardon them, he would. And this only intensifies the political conflict – says Prof. Nikolai Maletsky.
As the expert says, the pardon procedure itself is a reasonable procedure when someone asks the president to pardon an unknown person. Then the proceedings – including the opinions of the courts of subsequent instances – are useful, because firstly, the head of state does not know the circumstances of the case, and secondly, new facts about the convicts are established during the proceedings, in particular, the success of the social rehabilitation process.
– President Duda started a reasonable process pointlessly. Let's not lie. If he wanted to release convicts from prison, he would have done it a long time ago. He wants to escalate emotions and allow PiS to attack Minister Bodnar – Prof. concludes. Nikolai Maletsky.
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