On 4 August 2010 daily Newspaper wrote that Polish Prosecutor Office is planning to charge for war crimes Polish officials. As “Gazeta Wyborcza” states, the prosecutor responsible for the investigation Jerzy Mierzejewski doesn’t want to comment on this issue. He just says: – The investigation is top secret. CIA prisons were supposed to work in Poland and several other countries between the years of 2002-05. The “Washington Post” wrote about their existence in autumn 2005. After the release of this publication the investigation commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, announced that secret prisons existed in Romania, Lithuania and Poland. Their main purpose was to harbour terrorists captured in Afghanistan. However, they were lacking any strong evidence.

The Polish authorities constantly denied the existence of CIA prisons. All they admitted to, was that on the powers of a treaty with the USA Poland agreed for CIA planes to land on the airport in Szymany. The Tribunal of State charges officers of the highest rank – not lower than a minister – for crimes committed during their term of office. “Gazeta Wyborcza” states that this is why the proposal to the marshal can apply only to three people, who ruled between 2001-2005 – former President Aleksander Kwasniewski, former Prime Minister Leszek Miller and former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration Krzysztof Janik.

The Polish prosecutor launched the investigation during the summer of 2008. The starting point of the investigation was supposedly a secret note of the Polish Intelligence Agency confirming that a base controlled by the CIA existed on polish territory. The basis of the investigation was the consent of the Polish authorites for its creation and their abuse of powers.

“Gazeta Wyborcza” further states that the Prosecutor listened to the testimonies of tens of witnesses – among them former Prime Minister’s and bosses of intelligence agencies. Last Friday, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights disclosed a document of the Border Guard, which states that out of the 20 passengers of the CIA planes, which landed in Szymany between December 2002 and September 2003, 16 passengers didn’t fly any further. They could have possibly been CIA prisoners. Aleksander Kwaśniewski tells “Gazeta Wybiorcza” that the prosecution didn’t interrogate him. He adds that: – There was co-operation with the American intelligence, and that’s the reason for the CIA flights to Szymany, however there were no prisons. – Could Poland as part of the co-operation give Americans consent for prison and torture? Kwaśniewski: – The Americans never asked for such consent. – Could they do it without our knowledge? – I have no information whatsoever about Americans torturing prisoners in Poland.

Leszek Miller replies to all the questions by stating: “I have nothing to say about this case”. Previously he strongly denied the existence of a secret CIA prison in Poland. Krzysztof Janik says that “he had nothing to do with this case”: – The Polish intelligence centre in Kiejkuty (that’s where the terrorists were supposed to be kept) was not part of my responsibility as Minister of Internal Affairs.

– I would be astonished by a notion to the Tribunal – adds Janik. – The Polish government had the right to sign a contract with the American government on the issue of joint war with terrorism. As far as I know, our government had no idea what the Americans are doing with the prisoners, and surely not – that they were tortured.

“Gazeta Wyborcza” asks if the CIA tortured prisoners, could Kwaśniewski and Miller have known about this? Janik says: – I can’t answer for them, however knowing the mechanisms of power, I doubt that they knew. Zbigniew Siemiątkowski, boss of Polish Intelligence Agency at the time: – When I’m objectively asked by entitled agencies and when finally I’ll be exempted from secrecy, then I’ll answer.

As “Gazeta Wyborcza” emphasizes, to a potential trial in front of the Tribunal of State there’s a very far way. When the marshal of Sejm receives evidence from the prosecutor, he will hand it over to the commission of constitutional responsibility. It won’t be before the commission agrees with the prosecution’s proposals, that the entire Sejm will decide on the case.

*Published in Gazeta Wyborcza on 4 August 2010

The original of the article is available at: http://wyborcza.pl/1,75478,8211238,Trybunal_Stanu_dla_politykow_lewicy_za_tajne_wiezienia.html