Tusk Government Takes Political Retaliation to the Next Level with Raid on Catholic Foundation
Special services coordinator Tomasz Siemoniak said that anti-corruption officers were sent to the Lux Veritatis Foundation at the request of the prosecution service.
Far Archidiecezja Krakowska Biuro Prasowe – https://www.flickr.com/photos/archidiecezjakrakow/43738929451/, Publika havaĵo, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94112542
Special services coordinator Tomasz Siemoniak said that anti-corruption officers were sent to the Lux Veritatis Foundation at the request of the prosecution service.
On Wednesday, November 26th, the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) announced that in a raid on the offices of the Lux Veritatis Foundation, a conservative media and culture entity headed by Catholic monk Tadeusz Rydzyk, it had secured key documents in its ongoing probe into alleged financial misconduct at the Ministry of Justice.
Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, currently residing in Hungary, is accused of misappropriating millions of złoty from the Justice Fund–accusations that have been used by the Tusk government as part of a broader campaign of political intimidation against figures associated with the former conservative ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS).
Special services coordinator Tomasz Siemoniak said that CBA officers were sent to the Lux Veritatis Foundation at the request of the prosecution service.
“There are no sacred cows,” Siemoniak posted–a message widely seen as directed toward Father Rydzyk, who is also the founder of the Catholic channel TV Trwam and the Catholic broadcaster Radio Maryja, both closely linked to the previous PiS government.
Rydzyk has stated that Wednesday’s raid is only the latest step in a systematic effort to pressure and silence his media operations, including the TV Trwam, owned by Lux Veritatis.
He told wPolityce.pl that inspectors “constantly harass” the foundation, repeatedly demanding documents and conducting intrusive searches.
We have nothing to hide. We’ve never broken the law. Never. We’ve always ensured that everything, every last period and comma, was legal.
The priest argued that the measures taken against him amount directly to political persecution, adding
Imagine living with this 24/7. There are countless false statements every day. The incitement is constant. And what’s the most painful is that the prime minister says these things, and ministers lie publicly.
Since Donald Tusk’s liberal government came to power a year ago, the rule of law in Poland has been severely undermined. State institutions have been purged, opposition figures detained, and court rulings ignored. Despite these developments, EU institutions have refrained from criticism and have instead released billions of euros to the Tusk administration.
The liberals’ political “witch hunt” therefore continues. The 26 charges brought against former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro serve as instruments of political pressure. Meanwhile, former Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Romanowski has also been forced to flee to Hungary, where he has been granted political asylum–further evidence that legal processes in Poland are being weaponized for political ends rather than upholding genuine justice.
Lukács Fux is currently a law student at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest. He served as an intern during the Hungarian Council Presidency and completed a separate internship in the European Parliament.
