In Poland, Mariusz Kaminski, former Minister of the Interior, was arrested at the presidential palace

Czeslaw Mrozek, Polish Deputy Interior Minister, said that the Interior Minister of the former Polish populist government, Mariusz Kaminski, and one of his close collaborators, Maciej Wasik, were arrested on Tuesday evening, January 9, at the presidential palace by the police. Interior. “The arrest was made pursuant to a court decision.”, He wrote on Information later confirmed by police.

In December, a Polish court sentenced the former nationalist interior minister and his close associates to two years in prison for exceeding their duties in a case dating back to 2007. At the time, the head of the Central Anti-Corruption Service was in office, and Mr. Kaminski ordered an investigation that was considered It is illegal to target a member of the ruling coalition, led by the nationalist and populist Law and Justice Party.

Mariusz Kaminski, a controversial figure, had also served as coordinator of the secret services and, in the eyes of his critics, embodied authoritarian tendencies within the Law and Justice Party, which lost power following legislative elections in October.

“We are not hiding”

On Monday evening, the court issued an arrest warrant for the two men, who claimed their innocence, citing a presidential pardon granted by President Andrzej Duda in 2015 and questioned by the Supreme Court. The two men, who were elected representatives during the October elections, had their terms revoked on Friday, which they refused to acknowledge.

Police were unable to find the two men at their home on Tuesday morning. But they appeared soon after alongside President Andrzej Duda, himself of PiS, during a ceremony at the presidential palace, where they spent the entire day. According to media reports, the president was absent at the time of the arrest.

In the afternoon, the two men made a statement in the courtyard of the presidential palace. “We are not hiding, we are here with the president, and we know that police forces are gathered near the presidency in order to arrest us.”Mr. Kaminsky told the press. “If we end up in prison, we will be political prisoners.”he added.

“This is an unprecedented situation”Before the arrest of pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk, he commented on the situation in which “Convicted persons who must be taken by the police to a place of isolation choose another, perhaps more comfortable, place of isolation. (…) Presidential Palace “. He also accused the Prime Minister “The political camp that ruled Poland for eight years” To provoke “Unprecedented legal chaos”.