In an interview conducted by Poland’s Ordo Iuris Institute, Krzysztof Wąsowski, the legal counsel of Polish priest Father Michał Olszewski, spoke about his client’s dire legal situation under the Donald Tusk government ruling in Poland. The case is important, as it draws up parallels to the persecution of clergy under communist rule and reflects the Tusk government’s persecution of its political opponents.
The background of the case is that Fr. Olszewski, who was the head of the Profeto Foundation, was provided a multimillion grant under the previous conservative government, with 66 million zlotys paid out, while the total should have been almost 100 million zloty (over €23 million, or $26 million). The project was designed to help victims of sexual violence, but the government contends his organization should have never received any funding.
Now, he has already been in prison for over six months. He was first arrested on Holy Tuesday, on March 26 of this year, said Wąsowski.
There are some notable aspects of his case, including the extraordinary measures the government has taken during his trial.
“It took two days until we got to appear before a court, because in Poland only a court can decide on a temporary arrest – when someone, without either a verdict or even a trial, can be detained in prison – in order to secure the pre-trial proceedings as well as the investigation so that the prosecution’s investigation cannot be obstructed,” said his lawyer. “It is very rare for such an arrest to be used, and I think until now, it has not happened in Poland that such an arrest was used for administrative frauds, for such white collar criminals, as some call them.”
He went on to say that usually these charges without bail are used for someone suspected of a crime, some sort of abuse of power, or a failure to respect official procedures. This was treated quite differently in Poland until now.
“In such trials, precisely in cases of administrative fraud, one could participate without having to be detained; that is, one could remain at liberty, defending oneself as a free man,” said Wąsowski.
Fr. Olszewski’s lawyer contends this is now a “political issue, and that the “government has promised its voters that it will hold the PiS government accountable especially regarding the Justice Fund.” Olszewski is not the only one facing prosecution, others including former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro are as well.
“This is how the new government is showing that they are holding their predecessors accountable. It seems that he may be a victim of this process, as are two female officials from the Ministry of Justice, who have also been in jail with him for six months,” he said, with the detentions now extended another three months.
“In the eyes of the law, this should not be possible, but in this case the Prosecutor’s Office has presented a new charge based on the allegation that the former Ministry of Justice was an organized criminal group, as well as on the claim that by applying for grants from this ‘criminal group, Fr. Olszewski became – probably inadvertently – a member of a criminal group,” said his lawyer.
The charges against Olszewski include colluding with officials, “and benefiting from the fact that those who decided on the allocation of funds from the Justice Fund to various projects, including charitable ones, did so in a criminal manner.”
Wąsowski explained that Fr. Michał Olszewski proposed building a great work of charity in Poland for his congregation. “He wanted to build a center to help victims of sex crimes. There were five buildings planned, to be collectively named the Archipelago. One was to be for children, another for youth, the third for women, the fourth for men, and the fifth for families.”
His lawyer argued that the project was not only unique for Poland but also Europe as a whole. However, the prosecution argues that he had no right to such a grant because the foundation’s statutes did not allow for such a large sum.
Wąsowski stated that the funds were used for the exact purpose they were set to be used for, and there is no issue of personal enrichment for the priest. Now, the buildings stand empty, and new similar projects are being pursued by the new left-liberal government, which will have no such legal problems.
“It turns out that 10 new competitions were announced less than two weeks ago for the construction of provincial centers to help victims of crime which are to be organized exactly like the one in which Fr. Olszewski’s Profeto Foundation took part,” he noted.
In fact, the priest’s own foundation asked if it could participate in the bidding process to build such a center. “We even sent an inquiry, attaching the Profeto Foundation’s statute, to ask whether such a foundation could compete in the present competition. The answer is that it could; it does indeed meet the conditions. This is an exact carbon copy of the conditions that were previously in place, including in 2020.” The data may help Olszewski clear his name, but he has already served half a year in prison.
“Even if it had not been eligible and yet had won anyway, any crime or negligence was committed by those who managed the fund, not by the grant’s beneficiary.”
Wąsowski also notes that Olszewski faced torture during his initial detainment, a fact that was widely covered in the Polish media six months ago.
“Father Michał is sick with celiac disease and thus requires a specific diet. He was tortured for the first 60 hours after he was detained, from his apprehension on Holy Tuesday until Holy Thursday, when he was formally arrested. It turns out that being arrested is a real salvation in Poland because the worst period is the initial detention. The worst is the time of isolation. For those first two days, a person can in fact be held without a court order and on the basis of the Prosecutor’s order alone.”
The full interview contains many more details of the legal battle and ongoing persecution of Fr. Olszewski, which can be viewed here.
