Who sat and for how long — the contrast at a glance.
Politicians and the well-connected versus the ordinary citizen. Time spent in Polish pre-trial detention, and how that detention ended.
| Who | Case | Time in detention | How they got out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zbigniew Ziobro ! former Minister of Justice & Prosecutor General | Justice Fund — 26 charges (Prosecutor's Office) | 0 days | Hungary (asylum) → USA. EAW issued, not executed. 💬 Mr. Ziobro: since we are both in America — I invite you to a public debate on Polish pre-trial detention. Online or in person. Details → |
| Marcin Romanowski former Deputy Minister of Justice | Justice Fund | 0 days | Budapest, political asylum (Fidesz/Orbán). |
| Mariusz Kamiński, Maciej Wąsik ex-head of CBA / ex-deputy interior minister | "Land scandal" — convicted by final verdict | ~2 weeks | Pardoned by President A. Duda (23.01.2024). |
| Dariusz Matecki PiS MP | Justice Fund + fictitious job; obstruction charge (Signal group) | 2 months (III–IV 2025) | Prison hospital ward + 500,000 zł bail. |
| Waldemar Gontarski lawyer, TV commentator, university rector; collaborator of Ziobro's ministry; my counsel in 2021 | Corruption charges (CBA 2024) — "trading in influence" | 15 months without verdict | Bail (Court of Appeal, Katowice). |
| Roman Giertych lawyer, now opposition MP (KO) | Polnord (CBA 2020) | 1 day → hospital | Investigation dropped + 35,000 zł compensation for unlawful detention. |
| Włodzimierz Karpiński former Treasury Minister (PO-PSL) | So-called "garbage scandal" (Warsaw) | ~8.5 months | Detention lifted after he gained an MEP mandate; bail. |
| Katarzyna P. Amber Gold case | Fraud | over 6 years without verdict | ECtHR 2023: violation of Art. 5(3) ECHR. |
| An ordinary Polish citizen | — | 2 years and more (pre-trial detention) | No verdict. No bail. No pardon. No compensation. |
Politicians charged and under investigation.
As of 2026. All of this is charges, suspicions and official statements — not final convictions.
| Person | Role | Case | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Łukasz Mejza | PiS MP, ex-deputy sports minister | 11 charges — false asset declarations (hiding loans) | Charged, awaiting trial |
| Daniel Obajtek | ex-CEO of PKN Orlen, PiS MEP | ARiMR appointment while charged (alleged 50,000 zł bribe as mayor); blocking distribution of "Nie" weekly | EP lifted immunity (2026) |
| Patryk Jaki | PiS MEP, ex-deputy justice minister | Pegasus — private indictment by judge I. Tuleya | EP lifted immunity (2026) |
| Marian Banaś | ex-head of NIK, ex-finance minister | Underreporting rental income 2015–2020; inciting disclosure of tax secrecy; undeclared 68,000 zł financial-pyramid certificate | Charged (11.2025), proceedings |
| Bartłomiej Misiewicz | aide to A. Macierewicz (MoD) | Vodka "Misiewiczówka" ad — convicted; first-Pegasus-use thread | Verdict (fine) + Pegasus trial |
| Grzegorz Braun | MEP | incl. menorah desecration case | EP lifted immunity (2026) |
Systemic scandals — scale, not individuals.
| Scandal | Period | Scale | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Justice Fund | 2017–2023 | NIK: over 270M zł in irregularities. The fund paid for Pegasus, among other things. | 26 charges vs Z. Ziobro; indictment vs D. Matecki |
| Pegasus | 2017–2022 | ~580 people surveilled. ~30 officially notified (04.2024). Known: Roman Giertych, prosecutor Ewa Wrzosek, sen. Krzysztof Brejza, Michał Kołodziejczak, Jacek Karnowski. | Parliamentary inquiry since 19.02.2024 |
| Visa scandal | 2022–2023 | Doubts over at least 250,000 visas allegedly sold for bribes through consulates | Proceedings ongoing |
| Garbage scandal (Warsaw) | 2014–2024 | ~5M zł in bribes on waste contracts; indictment of 17 people | Trial |
| "Sovereign Poland" / Ziobro's circle | 2017–2023 | Romanowski, Matecki et al. — proceedings around the justice ministry and the Fund | Various stages |
Fuller catalogs: 100aferpis.pl, listaaferpisu.pl, Konkret24/TVN24.
The Gontarski case: a man from TV, a ministry collaborator — 15 months in detention.
Waldemar Gontarski — attorney, doctor of law, TV commentator, rector of the European School of Law and Administration. He was the Polish government's representative before the Court of Justice of the EU (until 2020), prepared legal analyses for the Ministry of Justice, and publicly praised Zbigniew Ziobro's judicial reform. Media called him "Ziobro's trusted man." In 2021 he was Dmitrii Vasilev's counsel.
The prosecution's charge (CBA, 2024) is almost poetic: he allegedly "traded in influence" and demanded 50,000 zł to arrange a court's refusal to approve someone's arrest. Yet he himself spent 15 months in Polish detention — without a verdict before being released on bail.
This is not the prosecution's narrative. These are the words of a man from the camp in power.
— attorney Waldemar Gontarski, "Interview from behind bars," Angora 50/2024; Gazeta Prawna interview.
A man who knew the system as a defender — then learned it as an inmate. If someone from the very camp that built this system says that, there is something to talk about.
The Giertych case: the other side of the aisle — the same mechanism.
Roman Giertych — attorney, now an MP for the Civic Coalition, defended Donald Tusk and opposition politicians. In October 2020 the CBA detained him over the Polnord company (alleged ~92M zł asset-stripping). During the search he collapsed and was hospitalized.
A court ruled the detention and search "unjustified," and the CBA the wrong body. Giertych received 35,000 zł compensation, and the investigation was dropped — "no crime was committed." In December 2021 Citizen Lab found Pegasus on his phone.
Different roles, different sides — one system.
- Gontarski — from the PiS camp — 15 months of detention without a verdict.
- Giertych — from the opposition/KO — CBA detention, hospital, Pegasus, case dropped.
- Dmitrii Vasilev — a foreigner — detention, "crypto king" in the press, zero verdicts.
This is not a party war. It is a justice system used against anyone inconvenient — regardless of side.
Detention that lasts for years — without a verdict.
Polish law has no maximum term for pre-trial detention. The Constitutional Tribunal ruled the relevant provision unconstitutional back in 2012. More than ten years have passed — nothing was changed.
Katarzyna P.
Over 6 years in pre-trial detention without a verdict. ECtHR (23.10.2023): violation of Art. 5(3) ECHR.
3 years, 2 months
ECtHR (2018): the extension orders contained "no specific evidence" of any risk.
Maciej Dobrowolski
40 months in pre-trial detention.
In Kauczor and Burża v. Poland, the ECtHR found excessive detention length to be a structural problem. Lawyers put it bluntly: detention has become "a prosecutor's tool, with illusory court oversight."
The "sixty": how they catch a dealer — and the innocent sit.
Art. 60 §3-4 of the Criminal Code — the so-called "small crown witness." A mechanism that, in theory, breaks up criminal groups; in practice, it can put innocent people in pre-trial detention for years.
Catch a dealer — let him name others
An offender who "acted with others" gets an extraordinary sentence reduction — sometimes suspended — if he reveals other people and circumstances to the authorities. The more names he gives, the lighter his own sentence.
He risks nothing for a false accusation
Unlike a "full" crown witness, the small crown witness loses no status even if he lies. If it turns out he falsely accused an innocent person, he is practically not held accountable — because he "exercised his right to defense." A perfect incentive to name anyone.
The Ombudsman (RPO) has written to the Ministry of Justice many times that the institution is abused and needs fixing — e.g. that an accusation must be corroborated by other evidence, not be the sole basis for a conviction or long detention. The change still hasn't come.
Michał Materla — KSW star
Detained in 2016 by the CBŚP in an "organized crime group" / drugs case. Spent about 8 months in detention. The crown witness "Ramzes" later admitted he had falsely accused him. Materla, in an interview: "the little lies and abuses are starting to come out."
Salim Touahri — MMA fighter
Months in detention based on the accusation of a gangster, "Klemens," who testified in exchange for a reduction of his own sentence. The classic "sixty" mechanism.
These are not fringe cases — they are well-known faces whose cases showed how Art. 60 works. The sports and MMA world increasingly calls for the rule to change. If an ordinary citizen sits for years on a single accusation, that is not justice — it's a lottery.
Sources
- RPO — problems with the "small crown witness" (letter to MoJ)
- RPO — publication "The institution of the small crown witness"
- Gazeta Prawna — "The small crown witness needs fixing"
- Art. 60 of the Criminal Code — the "sixty"
- mma.pl — witness admits to falsely accusing Materla
- MMArocks — Materla on his 8-month detention
- PolsatNews — Salim Touahri, months in detention on an accusation
How people are actually treated in Polish detention.
From the report of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the findings of the Ombudsman (RPO), 2024.
This is not "the cost of procedure." These are people who have not been proven guilty of anything yet.
- Not all cells have hot water.
- Pre-trial detainees spend whole days in their cell — apart from one hour of exercise, with no activities.
- No procedures for reporting torture. No facility kept a register of detainee injuries.
- Medical exams "cursory and superficial"; staff shortages.
- Cramped cells without privacy → "frustration, mental suffering, conflict and violence."
- Unexplained deaths (incl. the Czarne prison — the Ombudsman demands answers).
Mr. Minister Ziobro — a proposal.
You fled Poland voluntarily — as the Prosecutor's Office was drafting 26 charges. I was removed from Poland by force, through extradition — without my belongings, without information, in violation of my rights. You chose America to avoid trial. I chose nothing — and across four detentions I have not a single verdict. Since we are both in America — let's talk. In public. With journalists. Online or in person.
Because an ordinary person does not flee to Budapest. They sit — sometimes for years, without a verdict. First consultation is free.
Who else fights for justice — and whom you can write to.
I'm not alone. These are independent people and organizations who have worked on the Polish justice system for years. If you have a case — it's worth writing to them too.
Human rights
- Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights — detention, prisoners' rights
- Court Watch Polska — citizen court monitoring
- RPO — the Ombudsman
Investigative
- OKO.press — justice, the Justice Fund
- Konkret24 / TVN24
- Gazeta Prawna — law, Art. 60
Lawyers and witnesses to the system
- att. Łukasz Oleś — extradition, the "sixty"
- mma.pl / MMArocks — sports-world cases (Materla, Touahri)
These are independent parties — they do not represent me or this page. I list them because they do important work and may help your case.
Detention: fewer rights than a verdict. And 4 złoty for food.
The most absurd fact: a person in pre-trial detention — protected by the presumption of innocence — in practice has fewer rights and more restrictions than a convicted person. Someone who has been proven nothing is sometimes treated worse than someone whose guilt a court confirmed.
4 złoty a day
The minimum daily food allowance for an inmate is 4 zł, unchanged since 2016. The anti-torture mechanism (KMPT) and the Ombudsman (RPO) have demanded change for years.
A few times a month
An inmate may shop with their own money only a few times a month, with weight and liquid limits. The rest of the day is spent locked up.
Beds, mattresses, isolation
Worn-out mattresses, cramped cells, no real activity — conditions the CPT and RPO describe as conducive to ill-treatment. Real rehabilitation becomes fiction.
This is not a punishment handed down by a court. It is punishment by conditions — before any verdict at all.
This is top news. Here's how the media covers it — May 2026.
This is not a marginal case. Arrest, a wanted notice, flight to the US, the Justice Fund — front pages and prime-time leads. Below is just a fraction.
Headlines
- TVN24: "Ziobro seen in the US. The minister announces the next step"
- Rzeczpospolita: "Ziobro no longer uses Hungarian asylum. Seen in the US"
- TVN24: "European Arrest Warrant and pre-trial detention for Ziobro"
- Gazeta Prawna: "The Justice Fund — the investigation step by step"
- Konkret24: "Ziobro: I didn't know they'd launch proceedings"
Shows & commentary
Sources.
Based solely on public sources. Charges are not verdicts. This page is not legal advice.
Institutions & rulings
Last updated: 5 June 2026. Public material by vda.vc. Charges and suspicions are not verdicts; those convicted by final judgment are marked in the text. Press contact: dima@vda.vc.