The recent arrests of anti-government MPs in Warsaw and Europhile prime minister Donald Tusk’s aggressive shutdown of the Polish state broadcaster have prompted official complaints to the Council of Europe (CoE) by members of the country’s former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Arkadiusz Mularczyk was among those submitting the three resolutions to the CoE on Tuesday, January 23rd as the political battle over control of Polish institutions continues to rage in Warsaw. The Council of Europe is a non-EU-affiliated human rights group that, according to its mission “protects human rights, democracy and the rule of law” across the continent. The Poles were joined by signatories from across Europe—parliamentarians in the European Conservatives Group and Democratic Alliance of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
In a statement to The European Conservative, Mularczyk stated that while the EU was prone to turn a “blind eye” to “constant breaches of human rights” by the Tusk government, the CoE could act as an alternative platform for raising awareness. Mularczyk went on to say that the treatment of jailed PiS parliamentarians—which has included force-feeding—could even be classified as torture.
The resolutions call on the CoE to address the illegal detention of right-wing parliamentarians by the Tusk government, the closure of the state TV network TVP, and the dismissal of the country’s public prosecutor.
Taking national political grievances to international bodies is not without risk, since similar strategies were pursued by opponents of PiS until it lost its parliamentary majority in Poland. Nevertheless, the resolutions do demonstrate the seriousness of the purge facing supporters of the former government.
Following October’s election and a tense handover of power, Poland’s new Europhile rainbow coalition led by PM Tusk has been engaged in a wide-ranging purge of conservative elements within the Polish establishment linked to PiS, which left government after eight years in power—a change welcomed by the European Commission.
Tusk and his new administration are now facing intense pushback from the country’s conservative President Andrzej Duda, with the power struggle escalating following a raid on the country’s presidential palace earlier this year and the arrest of two PiS parliamentarians on what critics claim are fabricated corruption charges.
Former Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński and his ex-deputy, Maciej Wąsik, were imprisoned on charges of corruption despite a presidential pardon on January 10th, with both parliamentarians engaging in a hunger strike claiming they are being prevented from conducting their duties as lawmakers due to the arrests.
The PiS resolutions speak of the constitutional illegality of the moves by the Tusk government against the alleged institutional strongholds of the former ruling party and were presented at the CoE’s first sitting for 2024. The resolution garnered support from multiple European parliamentarians, including British Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh.
While the Council of Europe has no direct powers to enforce its decisions, it is generally considered a platform to raise awareness of international issues at a European level. Ironically, the CoE has previously been a major forum for anti-PiS forces to air their grievances—as late as last year.
There are no signs of the political turmoil in Poland ending as PiS submitted a parliamentary motion Thursday morning to allow the two jailed parliamentarians to participate in proceedings amid claims by the Right that the MPs are being stripped of their rights to perform their duties following their dramatic detention.
