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Radzik, Ziobro's man: “I won't forgive any of the kasciaks (the caste members)”. Dialogues of judges of the "good change"

https://oko.press/

MARIUSZ JAŁOSZEWSKI MAGDALENA GAŁCZYŃSKA 26 APRIL 2022

Radzik, Ziobro's man: “I won't forgive any of the kasciaks[1] (the caste members)”. Dialogues of judges of the "good change"

"Faggot rainbow", "perverts" or "somehow I stopped f... care". - in such an atmosphere and language took place discussions of judges close to the so-called "good change" on the WhatsApp “Antykasta (Anti Caste) newsgroup. And a member of the new National Council of Judiciary said about the candidates for promotion "my people". [OKO.press and ONET INVESTIGATION].

We reveal how members of the new NCJ freely on the Anti Caste newsgroup on WhatsApp – also called Kasta (a Caste) - discussed the competitions and judicial promotions decided by the new Council.

One of the court presidents from the Anticast group outright thanked the members of the NCJ for selecting those and not other candidates for promotion. In a chat he wrote: "you are Wonderful”.

We also show how deputy chief disciplinary commissioner openly discussed with other chat participants the investigations or disciplinary proceedings they were conducting.

"Somehow I f...ing [dots from editor] stopped caring. I'm not going to let any of the guys off the hook". - Deputy Disciplinary Commissioner Przemysław Radzik openly declared in a chat.

Since last week, OKO.press and Onet, in a joint investigation, have been revealing new information about the activities of judges supporting the so-called good change; in courts and gathered around Łukasz Piebiak, the former deputy minister of justice. Piebiak resigned after Onet revealed the so-called "hatter affair" in August 2019. He belonged to the Kasta/Antykasta discussion group, which we write about in our texts.

Today we reveal what the dialogues looked like on the Antykasta discussion group, where supporters of the changes to the courts introduced by the Law and Justice (PiS) political party government were gathered around the "herszt" (mob leader) Piebiak - as he was called on the discussion groups. These were mainly judges, but not only. We also show how members of the current, new NCJ functioned in this environment. The same ones are now running for a second term of the Council. Their candidacies are to be approved on Tuesday 26 April 2022 (evening) by the parliamentary Justice Committee. This is not the end of our publications about the group of judges gathered around Piebiak. There will be more to come.

On competitions in the new Council. "Thank you to all the gentlemen of the NCJ. You are Wonderful"

Members of a discussion group on WhatsApp called Anticast were discussing the competitions for judges' positions conducted by the new NCJ. This is surprising because five members of the Council belonged to the Anticast group - so they should not discuss topics related to their activities in the Council with outsiders. We describe such discussions, everywhere retaining the original spelling from the chat.

Thus, on 17 October 2018, the discussion on the group concerned the competition for judicial positions in the Regional Court in Jelenia Góra. This is the court whose president was then and is still today Dariusz Kliś, who belongs to the Anticast group.

It was on 17 October 2018 that the new NCJ gave appointments to this court to five judges. As it turns out, the council's decision may not have been accidental. And that's because at 17:10 the president of the Jelenia Góra Regional Court, Dariusz Kliś, wrote on Antykasta: "Heartfelt thanks to all the gentlemen of the NCJ. Thank you very much. You are wonderful. Bravo!!!" [original spelling - ed.]

Konrad Wytrykowski, today a member of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, wrote back: "What a spectacle it was". Maciej Nawacki, a member of the new NCJ and president of the Olsztyn District Court asked: "What happened? Because I didn't notice". Wytrykowski: "Nothing. Everything (went) as planned." Nawacki added an emoticon of a smiling face and three emoticons of a clenched fist in response. And deputy justice minister Łukasz Piebiak an emoticon of three applause.

Public notary (former judge) Arkadiusz Nikiel added: "Everyone is thanking just not sure for what. And there." What he meant was explained by Jarosław Dudzicz, a member of the new NCJ and president of the Regional Court in Gorzów Wielkopolski: "Today we had Kliś`s Jelonka on the wallpaper [Regional Court in Jelenia Góra, where Dariusz Kliś was president - ed.] And it went through as planned, albeit with initial difficulties and confusion caused by our some lovely colleagues."

To which president Kliś wrote back: "All five [candidates - ed.] passed, unless Chojnacka will chalk it up to ours from today. They [the candidates - ed.] got something they could dream of"...

"My people". Nawacki on the candidates for promotion before the NCJ

A few days earlier, on 14 October 2018, on the Anticast group, some of its participants complained that they had trouble sleeping, due to the tense situation in the judiciary. At 11:42 a.m., Maciej Nawacki, a member of the new NCJ, joined the discussion: "After the way they bullied my and random people I can't sleep either."

"Who?" - asked Jakub Iwaniec, then on a delegation at the Ministry of Justice. Nawacki: "My people  Prof. Przemek Palka who is running for the district (court) in Szczytno. He got 71 votes against and 2 in favour. Prosecutor Adam Jaroczyński lecturer of KSSiP [the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution, subordinate to the Ministry of Justice - ed.] to the Regional Court got 67 against 2 in favour. Tomek Koszewski was not surprised by this after the article in DGP (Dziennik Gazeta Prawna -Legal Gazette Daily)".

This alleged 'bullying” of which Nawacki mentioned concerned, among other things, the competition for the District Court in Szczytno, which the new NCJ was debating in January 2019. Earlier, each candidate had to be assessed by the Assembly of Judges composed of representatives of the court to which the candidate was to be nominated. Prof. Przemysław Palka, about whom Nawacki writes, received only two votes "for" in the Assembly's assessment - 71 judges were against his candidacy.

Despite this, the Council in January 2019 decided to recommend Prof. Palka for promotion. Significantly, Nawacki did not exclude himself from this voting, although Prof. Palka was Nawacki's boss in the Department of Legal State Protection at the University of Warmia and Mazury.

Nawacki on the Anti Caste discussion group also mentioned prosecutor Adam Jaroczynski. When evaluating candidates for judicial promotions in January 2019, the NCJ looked, among other things, at a vacancy in the family department of the Olsztyn Regional Court. However, from among five candidates - including long-serving judges supported by the Assembly - the Council chose... a prosecutor from the District Prosecutor's Office.

It was Adam Jaroczyński who was to be appointed to the Olsztyn regional court, where he was to sit in the family department. The new NCJ decided to recommend prosecutor Adam Jaroczyński for promotion to the Regional Court - regardless of the negative opinion of the Assembly of judges. This is not the end of the story. The NCJ also took this decision contrary to the opinion of the visiting judge who had assessed the candidate. According to the visiting judge, if prosecutor Jaroczyński was to be sent to court, it would first be to a district court. And not to the family division, but to the criminal division.

Nawacki also wrote in the chat room about Tomasz Koszewski. As the media revealed, this judge from the Olsztyn District Court - where Nawacki is president - was delegated to the Ministry of Justice on 18 June 2018. This happened even though this judge - as reported in September 2018 by "Dziennik Gazeta Prawna" - had disciplinary proceedings against him at the time.

This was to include allegations of protraction in as many as 82 pending cases, failure to comply with the court president's recommendations, and offending the dignity of the dignity of judge's office. Koszewski made a name for himself as a staunch supporter of president Nawacki in the Olsztyn court. In the end, Koszewski was nominated by the new NCJ as a judge of the Olsztyn District Court - the president appointed him to the post in September 2021.

After Nawacki's post on the Antykasta discussion group, Dariusz Kliś, the president of the Regional Court in Jelenia Góra, reassured: "Gentlemen, you have to do your job calmly". He was backed by Iwaniec: "Calm down, but the NCJ must already have arguments ready for such cases”. "Why exactly him? (...) The sooner and more often the NCJ speaks about this the better. It is necessary to marginalise and ridicule the assemblies, to say 'It's not a casting for Pop Idol`, 'It's not a beauty contest', etc. We need to say 'It's not a talent show casting', 'It's not a beauty contest', etc. Strongly and bluntly, so that the media picks up on it and it goes around the world.

Dariusz Drajewicz, a member of the new NCJ: "Then you do it in the media, because I say at every meeting during the evaluations that the evaluation of the assembly has only social value". Then again Nawacki wrote: "I have already acted I called the dean of the faculty (of law at University) and he boiled over. They are preparing a resolution for the faculty council". To which Konrad Wytrykowski, now a member of the Disciplinary Chamber in the SN: "And that's the point. Bravo Maciej."

Promotion from the new NCJ for Deputy Disciplinary Commissioner Lasota. Radzik: "Brothers of the COUNCIL thank you very much".

Members of the Anticast group also warmly welcomed the nomination for Michał Lasota, who was recommended as a judge of the Elbląg Regional Court by the new NCJ on 19 March 2019. At 15:06 Rafał Puchalski, a member of the new NCJ and president of the Rzeszów Regional Court, wrote in a chat: "Congratulations." Lasota, known mainly for being one of two deputy chief disciplinary commisioners, responded with emoticons with smiling faces. Other members of the group joined in the congratulations. And Konrad Wytrykowski wrote ironically: "But unfortunately...you were probably elected by a non-existent body".

Let us emphasise that the status of the politically appointed new NCJ has been challenged by both the Polish Supreme Court and the most important European tribunals - the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights.

Lasota replied: "Existing and how". Second Deputy Chief Disciplinary Commissioner Przemyslaw Radzik joined the discussion: "I arrived home And from my seat, in fact from all my heart MICHAŁ, Comerade/Companion Congratulations! And to you, brothers from the Council, thank you very much".

The dialogues of the judges gathered in the Anticast group - according to Judge Arkadiusz Cichocki, 24 lawyers belonged to it, but not all of them were active participants in the discussions - also concerned the activities of the deputy chief disciplinary commissioner. They are known for bringing disciplinary actions against judges known for defending the rule of law. We provide examples of such dialogues to show the climate of the community of judges gathered around Łukasz Piebiak.

Radzik pursues Judge Krupa - judicial community outraged. Iwaniec: "We can do it. The enemy is furious"

In October 2018, Anticast discussants exchanged comments about Arkadiusz Krupa. He is a judge in the District Court in Lobez, known for his satirical drawings about the justice system, which he posts on the blog Blind Eye of Temida. Krupa at that time was a member of the Iustitia association, critical of the changes introduced in the courts by the United Right.

In autumn 2018, Deputy Disciplinary Ombudsman Przemysław Radzik initiated an investigation against him. He accused him of appearing in a mock trial for young people at Jerzy Owsiak's Pol`n`Rock festival in a judge's robe and with an eagle chain. Radzik accused Judge Krupa that the trial simulation was a parody.

And this is how the case was commented on Anticast on October 24, 2018. At 2:54 p.m., Radzik posted a link there to an article about the case in Onet.pl. Andrew Skorwon, a judge working on secondment at the Ministry of Justice wrote: "He could have put on himself the outfit of the nadszyszkownik  Kilkujadek[2], what a moron ". Jakub Iwaniec considered whether taking part in the trial simulation was an additional activity for which Krupa should have had permission from the court president. If so, he could get a another disciplinary charge.

Radzik wrote back: "Colleagues I am really grateful to you for the good advice. Now I will read the press. I will read what a dick I am ect. And they are probably right, because why should I deal with bullshit when judges commit more serious offences. And if anyone has doubts about it, I assure you that we prosecute them too".

The discussion about Judge Krupa was revisited on the Anticast group. Radzik at 22:47 provided a link to an article in OKO.press about prosecuting Krupa for participating in a trial simulation. Deputy Minister Lukasz Piebiak reacted: "Bullshit. Take care Przemek. Serious changes come with a lot of effort, but after some time no one will think of clowning around in official clothes".

And Paweł Zwolak, a judge delegated to the justice ministry, added: "This is a transitional period. Truth will prevail." "Thank you very much" - Radzik wrote back and added an emoticon of fists and crossed swords. And Iwaniec, who also worked at the justice ministry at the time, added just after midnight: "We can do it. The enemy is getting furious".

Radzik: "somehow I stopped f... caring, I won't forgive any of the Caste Members".

As we showed above, on the Anticast group, its members discussed without inhibition the cases led by deputy chief disciplinary commissioners Przemysław Radzik and Michał Lasota. One of the discussions concerned judge Włodzimierz Brazewicz of the Court of Appeal in Gdańsk.

He is known for his commitment to defending the rule of law and legal education of young people. In October 2018, he was summoned to a hearing with Deputy Disciplinary Commissioner Przemyslaw Radzik as a witness. It was about a meeting between Judge Igor Tulea and citizens in Gdansk - it was led by Judge Brazewicz. It was organised by the judges' association Iustitia and Pomeranian legal advisers and advocates. But in Radzik's opinion, the meeting could have been political in nature, as it was attended by, among others, candidates in local government elections.

The hearing by the disciplinary Commissioners of Tulea and Brazewicz took place in early November 2018. The judges' attorneys were not allowed to attend the hearing.

Przemysław Radzik wrote about Brazewicz's summoning to the hearing on Anticast on 26 October 2018 at 4:40 p.m. He posted this: "I like this tefauen [TVN tv station phonetic and ironically - ed]". Radzik refers to the material on TVN unlikely about this case. Then he posted another entry: "Brazewicz appears not by chance. After all, he will visit us in the torture chamber on 6 November. They will have a pretext to pull the topic....".

The "torture chamber" in question is - as the deputy disciplinary commissioners themselves called it on Antikysta - the office of the chief disciplinary commissioners, operating out of the NCJ premises in Warsaw. It is the place where Lasota, Radzik and chief disciplinary commissioner Piotr Schab work. Jakub Iwaniec reacted to Radzik's post: "huh. commie (communist)". Radzik: "Somehow I stopped f...ing care about it [dots from editor]. I won't forgive any of the Kasciaks (Caste Mambers)...".

Anticast members on LGBT+ people. Piebiak: Yuck, get out with that queer/faggot rainbow

Members of the Antykasta discussion group also commented on current events, including the issue of non-heteronormative people. They simply mocked them. For example, on 23 October 2018 at 20:59 Paweł Zwolak wrote in the chat: "Cool that rainbow...". He added a rainbow emoticon. This may have been a reaction to an earlier discussion. "Yuck. Get out with that fag rainbow," Lukasz Piebiak wrote back.

"Right away faggy now politcorectly it's called a bicycle rainbow[3]," responded Zwolak.

Przemysław Radzik joined the discussion: "Speaking of fags [most likely "faggots"-ed.] On Saturday, there was a march of these thugs in Zielona Góra. On Sunday, the flags were still flying.Yack'. Jarosław Dudzicz, a member of the new NCJ and president of the Regional Court in Gorzów Wielkopolski, reacted. He added four emoticons of vomiting faces and wrote; "Good thing there are still normals in Zielona".

There are more similar dialogues on Antyksta. We publish only a selection of these in order to show the climate of the judges' community around Łukasz Piebiak at the time.

[1] Reference to Judg Irena Kaminska speech, In which she called judges as “an exdtraordinary caste of people”. Since then pro-governmental media used to call judges opposing the changes introduced by PiS the Caste members.

[2] Reference to the 80ties movie, In which actors had little dwarfs outfits

[3] Reference to „pedal” the vulgar synonime of gay person

Original text