Attorney General Adam Bodnar asked the Marshal of the Sejm, Simon Holownia, to give his consent to drawing a associate to the Polish Parliament, Mariusz Błaszczak, to criminal responsibility.
The case concerns serious allegations related to the disclosure of secret defence papers of Poland, which was intended to jeopardize the state interests and national security. According to the National Prosecutor’s Office, “the decision of the Minister of National Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak about the abolition of the classification of papers and extracts of papers which constituted the Plan for the usage of the Armed Forces of Poland was the first specified decision after 1989."
The proceedings conducted by the Department for Military Affairs of the territory Attorney's Office in Warsaw concern the suspicion of an excess of powers and the failure of the then Minister of National Defence. In accordance with the findings of the investigators, decisions were taken between 28 July and 17 September 2023 to abolish the top-secret and secret secret classifications from fragments of the operational planning paper "Plan of usage of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland WARTA-00101 Defence Operation – Main Part". As he emphasizes National Prosecutor’s Office‘this decision has been taken despite the fact that the statutory grounds for the protection of classified information contained therein have not ceased’. As a result, this information became public and was disseminated on the Internet, which would compromise the safety of the Polish Armed Forces and public interest.
The Prosecutor's Office believes that in order to accomplish political benefits, declassified fragments of Poland's defence plan were utilized in the Law and Justice electoral campaign. The papers disclosed were intended to be part of the media transmission and were utilized to illustrate the explanation of the expected readiness of the earlier government to surrender half of Poland in the event of armed conflict.
The allegations against the erstwhile Minister shall include the acts referred to in Article 231(2) of the Criminal Code (exemption of powers by a public officer) in connection with Article 265(1) (disclosure of State secrecy). The Prosecutor's Office emphasises that Błaszczak's actions could have caused "a peculiarly serious harm to the Republic of Poland, threatening its independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, global position and the cohesion of the North Atlantic Alliance".
According to the prosecutor's office, the full operation aimed at discrediting political rivals and strengthening the image of the ruling organization before the October 2023 parliamentary elections. Investigators considered that there were grounds for presenting criminal charges to Mariusz Błaszczak. However, due to his parliamentary immunity, it is essential to get the consent of the Polish Sejm to bring him to criminal responsibility.
Meanwhile, the political camp of Law and Justice defends Mariusz Błaszczak, arguing that the disclosure of papers was intended to “disclosure the truth” and did not constitute a threat to the safety of the state. The decision of the Sejm on this substance may have crucial consequences for the political future of the erstwhile minister and for the form of public debate in Poland.
