Patryk Jaki MEP (Law and Justice; PiS)is beginning his “special trial” in Poland, after ‘liking’ a Twitter post back in 2018 that showcased real security footage of migrant criminals.
Polish prosecutors requested a three-year prison sentence for this ‘hate crime,’ while leftists in the European Parliament began the procedure to strip Jaki of his diplomatic immunity for “inciting hatred against Muslim immigrants.”
The trial of the co-chair of the European Conservative and Reformist (ECR) group comes against the backdrop of Polish PM Donald Tusk’s entire liberal government becoming the subject of an official probe over a suspected “coup d’etat” last week due to its blatant rule-of-law violations, such as ignoring high-level judicial rulings, taking over public institutions, and unlawfully persecuting the conservative opposition—something that Jaki’s case perfectly illustrates.
The trial came to international attention after X owner Elon Musk reposted an interview with Jaki on Tuesday, February 11th, calling the prosecutor’s request for a three-year sentence for liking a social media post “insane,” adding:
Thank the Lord that America has the First and Second Amendments.
Thanks to Musk, the short clip amassed over 8 million views on X in less than 24 hours. In a subsequent video that Jaki posted in reply, he showcased the 2018 clip that was originally published by the then-ruling PiS party, and asked Musk to keep supporting free speech and “all people who do not want a world where you are put in jail for liking a tweet.”
Thank You @elonmusk ! In this video more about this trial 👇 https://t.co/G6DGELq4vZ pic.twitter.com/Jw4CBaKLY8
— Patryk Jaki (@PatrykJaki) February 11, 2025
In parallel, the Tusk government on Monday suspended Michał Ostrowski, the country’s deputy prosecutor general, for launching the “coup d’etat” investigation into its members, despite him acting at the request of the Constitutional Tribunal, Poland’s highest constitutional judicial body.
Ostrowski was relieved of his duties for at least six months, effective immediately, by Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, who’s also one of the key “suspects” in the investigation that is now also suspended. A separate investigation was launched against Ostrowski by the government-controlled national prosecutors for “the crime of abuse of power.”
Faced with rule-of-law abuse charges, there’s hardly a worse way to establish your innocence than firing and prosecuting the man tasked with investigating your crimes.
This latest political battle began in Poland last week after Bogdan Świeczkowski—president of the constitutional court—officially requested the probe into the government’s rule-of-law abuses, claiming that Tusk and his ministers, as well as other key political allies, were acting “in an organized criminal group,” with the aim of overthrowing the country’s constitutional order.
Ostrowski insists that he launched the probe in accordance with the law and that he will appeal Bodnar’s decision at disciplinary court:
I really just wanted to […] conduct this investigation objectively, which I have been actively pursuing in recent days. Further action has convinced me that it was warranted.
Still, neither the deputy prosecutor general nor Świeczkowski had any illusions about bringing the Tusk government to justice easily. The head of the constitutional court even told Polish media after submitting his request that he expected to be dragged out of his office by armed police any minute.
Naturally, the European Union actively ignores—or worse, denies—what’s happening in Poland. Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen paid a friendly visit to Tusk, a long-time ally and key member of her European People’s Party (EPP) group, just a day after the investigation was charged. At the same time, the chairman of the European Parliament’s civil liberties (LIBE) committee Javier Zarzalejos (EPP) cut off the microphone of a Polish MEP for daring to raise the issue in Brussels at a meeting with Minister Bodnar, who was invited to talk about the rule of law.
Polish MEP Faces Three Years in Prison for Liking a Tweet ━ The European Conservative