Poland asks EU Parliament to strip former CEO of state energy firm of immunity

Adam Bodnar, Poland’s justice minister and prosecutor general, has asked the European Parliament to strip opposition MEP Daniel Obajtek of immunity to face charges over alleged offences committed while he was head of Polish state energy giant Orlen under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government.

Obajtek – who, after being removed as Orlen CEO by the current government, became a PiS MEP – is accused of giving false testimony in court and of unlawfully restricting the distribution of a left-wing magazine at Orlen-owned sales outlets.

He denies the charges. saying that the recordings cited as evidence of false testimony were edited and that pulling the magazine from sale was justified because it offended religious feelings.

On Monday evening, Bodnar announced that he has sent a request to the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, because “evidence collected by prosecutors indicates that there is a sufficiently justified suspicion that D. Obajtek committed two offences”.

As a sitting MEP, Obajtek is protected by legal immunity, which must be lifted by a majority vote in the European Parliament before charges can proceed.

The first charge relates to allegedly giving false testimony on 11 May 2023 before Warsaw district court during private criminal proceedings. That crime carries a potential prison sentence of between six months and eight years.

According to Polish news outlet Onet, Obajtek testified under oath that he had no informal contact with a right-wing journalist, Piotr Nisztor. However, in a recording from 2018, the two are heard discussing personal favours and employment for Nisztor’s wife.

The second charge concerns Obajtek’s decision in March 2023 to order the immediate withdrawal from sale at all Orlen-owned outlets of an issue of Nie, a satirical left-wing weekly magazine.

The decision was made in response to Nie publishing a controversial cover featuring the late Polish Pope John Paul II holding a crucified doll on the cross of his papal staff. That was a response to media reports alleging that the former pope had failed to act against priests accused of child sexual abuse.

Orlen is a major distributor of the press in Poland, with sales points at petrol stations and stores. It also held a controlling stake in the now-defunct press distribution company Ruch, which operated more than 2,000 kiosks and newsagents across the country.

Prosecutors allege that Obajtek’s decision violated the press law, which forbids restricting the distribution of a publication due to its editorial line or content. That offence can result in a fine or community service.

Commenting on the allegations last week, Obajtek said he had provided explanations to prosecutors and claimed that the recordings at the centre of the perjury charge had been “edited”.

He also defended his decision to withdraw the issue of Nie, arguing it was justified because the cover offended religious feelings, which is itself a crime in Poland.

“If they want to lift my immunity for that, I am proud of it,” he wrote in a post on X, accusing the current government of masking its poor performance by targeting those “who acted for the good of the country”.

Main image credit: MAP (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)