WARSAW, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Poland’s chief prosecutor has asked the president of the European Parliament for his consent to prosecute Michal Dworczyk, an EU lawmaker and right-hand man of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, on alleged charges of obstruction of justice.
Donald Tusk’s pro-European coalition government, in office since December, is keen to hold accountable those it accuses of wrongdoing under the previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government.
However, PiS’s efforts are complicated by the fact that some of its appointed politicians still hold influential positions in areas such as the judiciary, political analysts say.
Attorney General Adam Bodnar accuses the former head of Prime Minister Dworczyk’s office of failing to fulfill his duties as an official. For example, he used a private email account for official communications, including confidential information.
He is also accused of obstructing criminal proceedings by permanently deleting some emails from his private mailbox after reporting a hacker attack.
In 2021, Poland said it experienced one of the largest cyberattacks in recent years, with over 100 email accounts belonging to current and former government officials being targeted. The government blamed Russia for the attack.
Dworczyk said at the time that some of the emails and information had been stolen from his and his family’s mailboxes and published on Telegram, while others were fake.
A Member of the European Parliament may only be held liable for a criminal offence with the consent of the institution.
“I consider it another political attack,” Dworczyk told the private radio station RMF on Thursday, commenting on the prosecutor’s request.
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Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by William Maclean
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