Warsaw court postpones Ziobry’s arrest hearing; prosecutor responds to decision.
Court Postpones Ziobry Hearing
On Thursday (January 15), the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów decided to postpone again the hearing on the request for a temporary arrest warrant against Zbigniew Ziobry. The court decided to postpone the hearing in view of the fact that requests for the recusal of the presiding judge were submitted (by the defense – ed.) and from a formal point of view this decision is correct. Such a request must be considered – explained Prosecutor Piotr Woźniak.
– Of course, the court did not have to postpone today’s hearing. It could have issued a ruling. That is also a possibility. However, due to the fact that the material is very extensive, due to the fact that the judge who would make the decision on possibly granting the defense’s request must also familiarize himself with this material, the court made exactly this decision – he added.
He noted that he objected to the defense’s request to recuse the presiding judge.
Prosecutor Addresses Defense Arguments
The prosecutor was also asked about the defense’s arguments. They concerned, among other things, that the judge belongs to the Iustitia organization, which criticized Ziobry when he was Minister of Justice. The issue of access to public and confidential documents was also raised. The defense also claimed that “there is no proof” that the suspect was informed of the hearing date.
– The court considered these arguments (…) and decided that the suspect’s presence at today’s hearing was not necessary. Issues related to the disclosure or non-disclosure of specific documents to the defense were also raised. The defense forgets that Article 156 para. 5a of the Code of Criminal Procedure directly indicates to which documents defense attorneys have access. They argued that they should have much broader access, but then it would be inconsistent with the procedure. They also raised the issue that in the application for a temporary arrest, factors in favor of the suspect were not indicated. According to Art. 249a para. 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court has this material and it is the court that, if it considers that any document or testimony is important for the suspect, then the court discloses these documents. Here there was a dispute that it should be the defense that makes the assessment, which would be contrary to the provisions of legal procedure – said Prosecutor Woźniak.
When asked if the defense is filing further requests to delay proceedings, the prosecutor replied: – I get the impression that it did not matter to the defense whether this request (regarding arrest) was considered today.
Next Hearing Scheduled for February 5
Woźniak assessed that it is difficult at this moment to predict how the next hearing in this case, scheduled for February 5, will look.
– Future events are always uncertain. However, it seems to me that those arguments that could have been raised from the defense side, and which were intended to indicate that there are formal obstacles to considering the merits of the application for temporary arrest, have been exhausted. I am optimistic. I hope that on February 5, at the next hearing, the court will directly address the application for temporary arrest. Of course, I count on the fact that it will recognize this request as justified. I hope that we will discuss the substance of the procedures that should be applied when processing this request – he said.
He was then asked if the fact that Zbigniew Ziobry has been granted asylum in Hungary could affect the course of the hearing. In response, he reminded that documents regarding the granting of protection have not yet arrived at the prosecutor’s office. However, he noted that “the issue of asylum has no significance for the matter of resolving the application for arrest and resolving the matter of issuing the EEA.”
– It may be important when the EEA is considered by the court of the requested country – he added.
Asylum Status Irrelevant to Proceedings
Regarding Ziobry’s asylum status in Hungary, Prosecutor Woźniak clarified that while the documents haven’t yet reached the prosecutor’s office, the asylum status doesn’t affect the arrest warrant decision or the European Arrest Warrant (ENA) issuance process.
He noted that while asylum might be relevant when the ENA is considered by the court in Hungary, it doesn’t impact the current proceedings in Poland.
