Poland seeks to strip immunity from ex-PM's top aide

Poland seeks to strip immunity from ex-PM's top aide

Poland's Prosecutor General has asked the President of the European Parliament to consent to prosecuting Michal Dworczyk, a European Union lawmaker and right-hand man of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, for alleged obstruction of justice.

Donald Tusk's pro-European coalition government, in office since December, has made a priority of holding to account those it accuses of wrongdoing under the previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) administration.

However, its efforts are being complicated by some PiS appointees who are still in powerful roles in sectors like the judiciary, political analysts say.

Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar accuses Dworczyk, the former head of the prime minister's office, of failing to perform his duties as a public official, including using a private email account for official communication including classified information.

He also stands accused of obstructing criminal proceedings by permanently deleting some emails from his private mailbox after reporting a hacking attack.

In 2021, Poland said it had suffered one of the biggest cyberattacks in recent years, with over 100 email accounts of current and former government officials being attacked. The government blamed the attack on Russia.

Dworczyk said at the time that some of the e-mails and information were stolen from mailboxes owned by him and his family and published on Telegram, while some were falsified.

Holding a member of European Parliament responsible for a crime is only possible after receiving the consent of the institution.

"I treat it as another political attack," Dworczyk told private radio RMF on Thursday, commenting on the prosecution's motion.