Did Zbigniew Ziobro get arrested? The decision will be made by a justice who has previously exposed himself to the Law and Justice

• Zbigniew Ziobro claims that he planned to appear at the final hearing, even though he felt that the committee of enquiry was acting against the law
• Members of the committee considering that the PiS politician intentionally impedes proceedings, request that the court arrest him for 30 days and thus manage to interview the erstwhile Minister of Justice
• What is in favour of Ziobra being arrested and against, he tells Onet Adjekt. Przemysław Rosati, president of the General Bar Council
• Read more specified stories on the Onetu homepage

The last, 5th in a row effort to interview Zbigniew Ziobra by the Parliamentary Committee of enquiry for Pegasus occurred on 31 January. The gathering was scheduled for 10:30 p.m., but the politician who was to be forced to do so did not arrive on time. Since this morning, he has been giving an interview on the pro-script tv Republic, and then he left the studio and let himself be detained by the police waiting for him.

Although he was on his way to a committee meeting, his members felt that Ziobro was one more time conducting his games and ignoring the committee. The gathering closed, not waiting for a late politician to arrive. They applied to the Sejm for his approval to be arrested so that he, already from the detention, would be brought as a witness to the next committee meeting. The majority of the Sejm were in favour of specified a solution, so on Monday the request for arrest of Ziobra will be handled by the Warsaw court.

What is in favour of his arrest and what is contrary, we ask Adjekt Przemysław Rosati, president of the ultimate Bar Council.

— There is surely a persistent deficiency of witness and thus Zbigniew Ziobra shows disregard for the applicable legal order. If he has been called to witness, he should have appeared, and he has not done so respective times,” says Przemysław Rosati. — However, if the court had decided to arrest the erstwhile minister, it would gotta presume that only the detention, the most severe measure, is the only way to bring him before the committee. Thus, the court would gotta state that detention and forced enforcement is not sufficient, due to the fact that it does not warrant the accomplishment of the nonsubjective of the order penalty, namely to guarantee the appearance of the witness of Zbigniew Ziobro before the committee of inquiry.

“For the erstwhile Minister, the highest standards must be required”

The lawyer emphasizes that “the devil is in the details.” The court will gotta return to the events of January 31. The point is to consider whether the police were ineffective, due to the fact that Ziobro "scheddened" in the tv studio of the Republic and deliberately delayed the procedures, or whether it could be considered effective, the politician was only late for the committee meeting, and this 1 did not wait for him.

Radek Pietruszka / PAP

Adj. Przemysław Rosati, president of the Chief Bar Council

Przemysław Rosati, erstwhile asking about his individual feelings, responds that he is primarily disappointed with the attitude of politics.

— He is simply a erstwhile Minister of Justice and a erstwhile Euro MP and now a Member. specified people should be required to have a much higher standard than alleged average citizens who face police, prosecutors or courts all day. They have no problem with that, and a well-known politician has. He should set an example and show respect for the law in force, but his conduct is lacking,” says the president of the ultimate Bar.

The lawyer is not convinced that the court is arresting Zbigniew Ziobra due to the fact that he may have doubts as to whether the detention, as the harshest means, is the only way to bring him to the committee. After all, Ziobro can defend himself that he wanted to get there and, besides, trust on his wellness to prevent him from appearing before the committee earlier.

Ziobro himself claimed earlier that he intended to appear before the committee, but she refused to wait for him. Furthermore, citing the decision politicized by the Law of the Constitutional Tribunal, he claimed that the committee itself was sitting illegally, as its scope was to be inconsistent with the Constitution.

The justice had previously exposed himself to the right hand. “I know him from the courtroom”

Adw. Przemysław Rosati is certain that Monday's decision of the court will be just and based on the law. He stresses that the case went to experienced justice Tomasz Julian Grochowicz. He evaluates him as a classy man, of large knowledge, who will surely not regulation “under the public” or as expected by politicians.

Paweł Supernak / PAP

justice Tomasz Julian Grochowicz in the courtroom of the territory Court in Warsaw

— He's a very good and experienced justice I know from the courtroom, so I know how he works. He will issue the ruling after careful examination of the case, under the law, as indicated by Adj. Rosati.

Let us add that justice Grochowicz is known for his past vulnerability to right-wing politicians and pro-scriptive media. He dismissed the criminal case against the author Jakub Żulczyk, who was described by president Andrzej Duda as “a moron.” The justice felt it was impossible to talk of insulting the head of state. He did not see the crime due to the fact that Żulczyk's behaviour had small social harm, his speech was wider, it contained a substantive statement, and criticism cannot be suppressed.

The justice besides acquitted the organizers of the Women's Strike, who in the times of the Law and Justice were accused by the prosecution of, among others, bringing danger to the lives and wellness of many people. The point was that mass protests, following the ruling of the pro-scriptive Constitutional Court on abortion, took place during the coronavirus pandemic. Judge Grochovich acquitted them, indicating that the protests were mass, were of a bottom-up nature, organizers called for wearing masks, and greater threats to spread the virus could have caused police action that insisted on the assembly.

Ziobra's complaint will halt possible detention

Monday's ruling, even if the court decides to arrest Zbigniew Ziobra, will not be final and unlike typical criminal cases will not have immediate effect. In the case of a detention decision, if a politician solicits it, he shall suspend its execution until an appeal sitting in a second instance.

— In this case, the case would go to the Court of Appeal in Warsaw, and its ruling can be expected within two-three months. The territory Court would first gotta deliver its ruling to a politician, he would have time to file a complaint. Then the appeal file would be forwarded, and there, according to the order of impact of the cases, a gathering would be scheduled. The Court of Appeal at specified an appeal sitting, which is unknown erstwhile it would take place, would, in fact, re-assess whether there are grounds for detention, says Przemysław Rosati.