His supporters claim he was ill-treated and tortured in prison, charges the Ministry of Justice strongly denies.
“We are shocked by the information we received about the arrest and detention conditions of Father Michał Olszewski, who is currently in temporary custody,” said PiS lawmaker Michał Wojczyk. Other lawmakers accused the new government of conducting a “political trial” against its opponents.
Judicial reform
Another key initiative of Tusk’s government will be to undo PiS’s judicial reforms, which have put Poland at odds with the European Commission, which sees Poland backing away from the EU’s democratic principles by undermining judicial independence.
Bodnar is working to restore the court’s independence and impartiality.
Last week, prosecutors, counterintelligence services and police searched the offices of the National Judicial Council (KRS), the judge-appointing body, and seized documents related to disciplinary proceedings against judges who opposed PiS’s judicial reforms.
The attack was condemned by pro-PiS media as an attack by a “revenge coalition” aimed at harming political opponents.
Bodnar also appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the involvement of judges in the PiS-influenced Judicial Council.
Meanwhile, PiS called for supporters to protest outside parliament on Tuesday night.
“Unfortunately, violations of the rule of law are commonplace today,” the party said.
This is the same accusation PiS faced during its eight years in power.
