Posted on 12/03/2005 1:13:34 PM PST by lizol
Presidential pardon causes controversy
02.12.2005
Poland's outgoing president, Aleksander Kwasniewski, has launched a procedure to pardon a member of the previous, leftwing government who was involved in a scandal, which rocked the Polish political scene for over two years.
Zbigniew Sobotka was convicted for 3 and half years in jail for tipping off gangsters about a prepared police action against them. The scandal which involved many left wing politicians brought to light many links and corruption affairs among the former ruling left. President Kwasniewski's decision to pardon Sobotka has given rise to outraged comments from the ruling right wing as well as many other politicians. It is not clear if the procedure can be completed before 23 December, when Kwasniewski's term ends, since Justice Minister and prosecutor general Zbigniew Ziobro has said that he sees no evident issues to pardon Sobotka and has decided to investigate all documents connected to the case and present a thorough report to the president.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.