On October 7, local time, the European Parliament voted to lift the legal immunity of two Polish MPs, allowing the Polish state prosecutor to proceed with judicial proceedings against them for alleged abuse of power.
The individuals whose immunity was revoked are Mariusz Kaminski, former Interior Minister of Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PiS), and his deputy, Maciej Wanczyk. Both were convicted and sentenced by a court in December 2023 for abuse of power while heading Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. They were also banned from holding public office for five years. However, they were subsequently pardoned by the Polish president and elected to the European Parliament, enjoying immunity by virtue of their status as members.
In April 2024, the two were charged for participating in Polish parliamentary activities while under suspension. In July of the same year, Poland’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar, formally requested the European Parliament to lift their immunity. Following deliberation and support from the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, all members voted by a majority to lift their immunity, leaving them facing criminal prosecution with up to five years’ imprisonment.
Poland’s Law and Justice Party criticized the move as “political retaliation”, while the ruling Civic Union said the two men needed to explain their “violation of their duties”.
