Mariusz Kamiński is one of the most noble, honest, and courageous people I have known. An anti-communist rebel, freedom fighter and anti-corruption leader, over the last 8 years he has done a tremendous job building Poland's resilience against Putin's and Lukashenka's hybrid warfare.

Tusk’s vendetta violates the Polish constitution, rulings of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Tribunal, and tramples on the presidential pardon. His decision to unlawfully abduct Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik from the Presidential Palace and imprison them should be alarming to every European, writes Anna Fotyga, ECR MEP and former foreign minister of Poland.

Mariusz Kamiński was jailed twice as a juvenile, in 1981 and 1983, for his courageous opposition to the communist regime. But Jaruzelski’s junta couldn’t break him. Today, judges who openly support the Civic Platform, with social links to post-communist intelligence services and family links to the bloody Stalinist judiciary, who should never issue any verdicts on behalf of Poland, are a useful tool in Tusk’s hands. In 2024, Mariusz Kamiński and his deputy Maciej Wąsik were hastily and unlawfully abducted from the Presidential Palace, imprisoned, and transferred out of Warsaw, despite having received a presidential pardon and being protected by parliamentary immunity. This was also a clear breach of the Presidential Palace’s security protocol.

Tusk knows that post-communism cannot be re-imposed on the Polish people without humiliating such key figures of anticorruption and freedom. That is why Mariusz Kamiński is Tusk’s obvious primary target. The decision to imprison him for his fight against corruption 17 years ago is a symbolic step in the re-establishment of a post-communist system in Poland. A scandalous decision, violating the presidential pardon granted in 2015 and rulings and decisions of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Tribunal, as well as unlawfully revoking his parliamentary mandate and depriving him of immunity, is alarming to all of us.

Both Kamiński and Wąsik have dedicated their entire political lives to fighting corruption, a disease which ravaged political and economic life of Poland in previous decades. Together with former President Lech Kaczyński, they were the pioneers of anti-corruption. They built the Central Anti-corruption Bureau (CBA), Poland’s very first modern special service based on Western standards which, after its many successes, became a model for similar institutions in the region, including the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). The CBA’s task was to eliminate remnants of Poland’s corrupted post-communist past. The success of these efforts - affecting the political, economic and social elites of Poland, who for years exercised impunity - had exposed CBA chiefs to attacks from very influential corrupted circles. When Donald Tusk took over power in 2007, the removal of Mariusz Kamiński from office was a priority. Due to statutory and legal constraints, including the tenure of the CBA’s head, it was impossible to remove him (I would like to point out that 3 weeks ago Tusk did not hesitate to unlawfully remove the head of the CBA, whose term in the office was supposed to end in May 2024). Therefore, Tusk triggered the option of removing him on the basis of criminal charges, with extremely dubious allegations. Additionally, those controversial judgements were a way to block Kamiński’s political activity. The creators of the newly-established CBA were confronted with the never-reformed system. It was not surprising that President Duda decided to pardon them, as the Polish constitution does not specify that the President’s pardon may take place only after the judgment becomes final.

I began my adult life in the Solidarity movement in the 1980s. As a politician after the fall of communism, I have dedicated many of my efforts to support human rights worldwide, visiting jailed leaders and politicians in person. I had never imagined that in an independent Poland I would be visiting political prisoners once again. Tusk decided to split them and transfer to remote prisons. Together with numerous Poles, I went to Przytuły Stare to show my solidarity. We will be there every day until their release. Mariusz Kamiński, the political prisoner of Donald Tusk, began a hunger strike in protest against the unlawful imprisonment of the former leadership of the Central Anticorruption Bureau. He is being kept in poor conditions, despite his health problems. After 10 days of hunger strike, he is being force-fed. Tusk’s regime has all the tools at its disposal to release him, and is fully responsible for his well-being.

I am sure the Polish people will prevail and safeguard the liberties we have had to fight for generations. We will keep fighting. Silence and timidity from the West, its leaders, and institutions is yet another confirmation of the crisis Europe has fallen into in recent years. However, contrary to our political opponents, we do recognize that our struggle can be successful without external meddling into Polish affairs. We have decided not to seek resolutions condemning the Tusk’s government. Too many times in Polish history, foreign interference has brought misery to our country. Nevertheless, we need to inform public opinion in the West, delivering facts, which should be alarming to Western democracies. Of course, there will be plenty of reassuring messages and words of deception from Tusk’s side. It is his strategy of loud, warm words followed by quiet, subversive action. I warn that weakening Poland through the Berlin-backed government’s revival of a troubled past in a time of Russia’s brutal policy of imperialism, will sooner or later bring more misery to the entire region. Minister Mariusz Kaminski held a key person role in Poland’s security, including in successfully deterring the wave of hybrid attacks aimed at destabilizing Poland and wider Europe prior to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. He supported Ukraine’s fight in deeds, not just words. His strong and effective actions countering Putin’s and Lukashenka’s hybrid warfare, including dismantling numerous spy networks, enhanced Europe’s security while making him an enemy of autocratic regimes in Moscow, Minsk and Beijing. Tusk’s actions also serve their interests and his regime is a threat not only to Poles, but also to the security of the entire region. Our partners should be aware of this and keep in mind his “wait and see” attitude during all the key moments of Russia’s aggressions against Ukraine and Georgia. Nevertheless, in Poland we all remember his shameful actions after Smolensk. Everything that is happening now - attempts to eradicate the opposition with the silent consent of Berlin and Brussels - is a direct continuation of this. The price will be paid beyond Poland’s borders.

Anna Fotyga MEP