The court ordered force-feeding for the imprisoned opposition representative Mariusz Kaminski, who is on hunger strike, Andrzej Duda announced on Wednesday.

Referring to the information obtained from Mariusz Kaminski's wife on Wednesday, the head of state said that the court decision on force-feeding was issued because the MP's health "is already endangering his life".

Andrzej Duda called on Justice Minister and Attorney General Adam Bodnar to "reflect on what he did" as the former Polish ombudsman.

He underlined that Kaminski's release is up to the Attorney General, which according to the law he can decide immediately.

In March 2015, Mariusz Kaminski and Maciek Wasik, representatives of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, were non-judicially sentenced to three years in prison and banned from holding public office for 10 years on the grounds that even during the first PiS government, in 2007, the anti-corruption office abused their official power as leaders. Andrzej Duda granted them a presidential pardon shortly after taking office in 2015.

However, the Supreme Court ordered a new trial in their case in June 2023. In December, the Warsaw District Court sentenced Kaminski and Wasik to two years in prison.

The two representatives were arrested last Tuesday in the presidential palace and then taken to prison.

On Thursday, the president initiated a pardon procedure for the second time in their case and asked Adam Bodnar to release the two representatives during the procedure. Bodnar announced on Monday that he would take action in the case within a few days.

Coup d'état, political purges, coup-like scenes - this is Poland today

The Polish president also reported on Wednesday that he spoke about the Polish rule of law situation, including the Kaminski case, in Davos with Vera Jourová, the EU commissioner responsible for transparency and values. At the meeting, he criticized the European Commission for not reacting to the flagrant violations of the current Polish government.

Jourová told the Polish commercial news television Polsat News that the committee does not respond to individual cases such as the case of the representatives.

MTI

Cover image: Demonstrators protest against the police action with banners depicting former Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and former Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on January 9, 2024
Source: MTI/EPA-PAP/Radek Pietruszka