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🇵🇱 Poland /Crime & Justice

The Giertych mechanism: How a lawyer-politician wins over witnesses and pursues PiS figures

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Under investigation
  • Roman Giertych and lawyer Jacek Dubois negotiated with prosecutors on behalf of Zondacrypto chief Przemysław Kral, according to reporting cited in the article.
  • Kral had previously been represented by Bartosz Lewandowski, who said he learned of the change through media reports.
  • The case has prompted questions about Giertych’s overlapping roles as a lawyer, Civic Coalition lawmaker and participant in efforts to hold Law and Justice figures accountable.

Roman Giertych’s arrival in Przemysław Kral’s case has put the overlap between his legal and political roles under scrutiny. Kral, the head of cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto, is seeking to cooperate with prosecutors, while Giertych and fellow prominent lawyer Jacek Dubois have negotiated on his behalf, according to the account.

The code of legal ethics requires a lawyer who wants to enter a case in which another lawyer is already acting to inform that lawyer and obtain his consent.

· Unnamed lawyerThe lawyer raised professional-ethics concerns about how Giertych entered Kral’s case.

The transfer from lawyer Bartosz Lewandowski took place in an unusual way. A well-known lawyer told Rzeczpospolita that professional ethics rules require an attorney entering a case handled by another lawyer to notify that lawyer and obtain consent. Lewandowski said he learned from Rzeczpospolita’s reporting on July 31 that Giertych and Dubois were negotiating for Kral. Four days earlier, he had also learned through the publication that Kral wanted to become a prosecution witness.

Kral had denied the matter to Lewandowski, who responded that the publication had “false information.” Giertych also sought to discredit the reporting, saying he had not recently been in the Gulf countries where prosecutors were reportedly meeting Kral. On Aug. 25, however, he wrote on X: “I would kindly like to inform you that since May this year I have been defending attorney Przemysław Kral.”

We have false information.

· Bartosz LewandowskiLewandowski used the phrase in response to reporting that Kral wanted to cooperate with prosecutors.

Asked why he had not informed Lewandowski, Giertych said Lewandowski was not formally Kral’s lawyer in the proceeding in which Giertych participated. He said the proceedings were later joined by prosecutors and that Kral had already revoked Lewandowski’s authorization, or at least informed prosecutors of that decision. The prosecution has declined to provide information, including Kral’s status in the investigation.

I would kindly like to inform you that since May this year I have been defending attorney Przemysław Kral.

· Roman GiertychGiertych acknowledged on X that he had represented Kral since May.

The article also highlights the political tension surrounding Giertych. He is an attorney, a Civic Coalition lawmaker and an ally of Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek in efforts to hold Law and Justice politicians accountable. Lawyers quoted in the description warn that promises of extraordinary sentence reductions may not be fulfilled if the government changes. The account also questions how Giertych could publicly discuss allegations involving Kral while representing him from May.

I did not inform Mr. Lewandowski because formally he was not my client’s lawyer in the proceeding in which I participated.

· Roman GiertychGiertych explained why he said he had not notified Kral’s previous lawyer.
About this summary

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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