Poland former Interior Minister, Mariusz Kaminski, declared that he has commenced a hunger strike, asserting that he is a “political prisoner.”
This announcement came a day after his arrest and imprisonment on charges related to abuse of power. Kaminski, along with his deputy, Maciej Wasik, was arrested inside the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. The situation underscores the heightened political tensions in the country, with Kaminski framing his hunger strike as a protest against what he perceives as political persecution.
“I declare that I treat my conviction … as an act of political revenge,” Kaminski said in the statement, read by his former deputy Blazej Pobozy at a news conference in front of the prime minister’s office.
New Prime Minister Donald Tusk, of the Civic Platform party, has pledged to undo the policies of his predecessors – the government of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party – and punish those accused of wrongdoing during their time in power. Kaminski and Wasik are members of PiS.
“As a political prisoner, I started a hunger strike from the first day of my imprisonment,” Kaminski’s statement read. Poland former Interior
Deputy Justice Minister Maria Ejchart responded to the strike by saying the two former officials are not political prisoners and any prisoner has the right to refuse to eat and drink if they so choose.
Police on Tuesday acted on a court order to take Kaminski and Wasik into custody, amid an ongoing dispute between the head of state and the new government.
On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters congregated in front of the Presidential Palace and a nearby police station to express support for Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) and to demonstrate solidarity with individuals, potentially including Mariusz Kaminski, who were held at the police station. The gathering highlights the political polarization and tensions within the country, as people rallied both in favor of the PiS and in response to the arrests, reflecting the deep divisions present in Polish politics.