Poland: the lack of respect for the rule of law and the crackdown on critical voices must stop

Written declaration No. 736 | Doc. 15458 | 16 February 2022

Signatories:

Mr Frank SCHWABE, Germany, SOC ; Ms Petra BAYR, Austria, SOC ; Ms Margreet De BOER, Netherlands, SOC ; Ms Laura CASTEL, Spain, UEL ; Mr Jeremy CORBYN, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Heike ENGELHARDT, Germany, SOC ; Ms Christiana EROTOKRITOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Latifa GAHOUCHI, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Kamila GASIUK-PIHOWICZ, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, San Marino, SOC ; Sir Tony LLOYD, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Max LUCKS, Germany, SOC ; Mr Gianni MARILOTTI, Italy, SOC ; Ms Barbara NOWACKA, Poland, NR ; Ms Filiz POLAT, Germany, SOC ; Mr Roberto RAMPI, Italy, SOC ; Ms Tabea RÖSSNER, Germany, SOC ; Mr Krzysztof ŚMISZEK, Poland, SOC ; Ms Derya TÜRK-NACHBAUR, Germany, SOC ; Mr Miroslav ŽIAK, Slovak Republic, EC/DA

This written declaration does not reflect the position of the Assembly; only of those members that have signed it. It will not be considered further by the Assembly.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

Parliamentary Assembly Resolution 2316 (2020) and Resolution 2359 (2021) called on Poland to uphold the rule of law and human rights. Unfortunately, the ruling of the politicised Constitutional Court in October 2021 practically pulled Poland out of the legal order of the European Union. Likewise, Poland has brought it into conflict with the European Court of Human Rights.

Peaceful protests are harassed by the police and critical voices are put under pressure by the public prosecutor. Activists like Bartosz Kramek, Marta Lempart, Klementyna Suchanow are the subject of incomprehensible criminal investigations and arrests. Legal aid mechanisms are abused against Open Dialogue Foundation activists and entrepreneurs like Piotr Osiecki. The prosecutor's office, controlled by Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, is putting pressure on suspected political threats, including judges Igor Tuleya, Waldemar Żurek and Beata Morawiec, Senate speaker Tomasz Grodzki, or persecuted executives Leszek Czarnecki and Jakub Karnowski.

At the same time, prosecutors refuse to investigate alleged government abuses and punish independent prosecutors like Ewa Wrzosek. We are concerned about reports that pressure is being put on Paweł Wojtunik, the former head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, and his family members.

In light of these developments, including the revelations of abuse of the Pegasus surveillance system, we call on the Polish Government to restore the rule of law and respect its human rights obligations.