Poland
Former Polish Ministers spy trial - disgrace or a political farce?
Classified Polnews
Warsaw, Poland September 7, 2006. Poland's former Minister of Finance, Zyta Gilowska, was acquitted of the formal charges of lying on her vetting statement and at the same time was accused by the trial judge of cooperating with the Polish secret police. The judge found that there was no clear evidence to say that there was cooperation but expressed her personal opinion that Zyta Gilowska had voluntarily given information to the Polish secret services. It was good for Gilowska to be acquited but was it all a disgrace or political farce?
Zyta Gilowska's reaction to the lecture by the judge after the judge granted the verdict of not guilty was that the comments by ther judge were "a disgrace". She went on to say that "The judge threw mud at me".
Zyta Gilowska's lawyer also considers the trial judges statements as out of line. He has stated that he is considering appealing the expressed personal opinions of the judge to a higher court.
It is up to a court to find a defendant either guilty or not guilty of the charges presented. In this case the judge could not find evidence to support a charge of guilty.
The judge commented that the records available in the Secret Service files were incomplete so the court had to rely on circumstantial evidence which evidence showed no proof of her intentionally passing on information to Secret Service agents.
And it was further noted that the files show no evidence that she was aware that she was a registered agents and there was no evidence of her receiving pay.
But the judge commented that Zyta Gilowska was very talkative with a secret agent. It just so happened that that secret agent was the husband of a good friend who was her neighbor.
Zyta Gilowska committed the crime of being a neighborhood blabbermouth in a circle of friends that just happened to include a Secret Service agent. So it appears that Zyta Gilowska had mud thrown at her by the vetting court judge because the judge considered her a blabbermouth
In an earlier trial of another Polish politician and former Prime Minister, Jozef Oleksy, a verdict of guilty was rendered. After that trial former Prime Minister Joseph Oleksy said the process was a political farce.
Gilowska's emotional reaction to the post verdict comments can be understood. They have hurt her badly.
Zyta Gilowska called her vetting trial verdict a "disgrace". Joseph Oleksy said his trial was a "political farce".
What will happen when the new vetting law is in place and more people are subjected to the humiliating process of vetting based on circumstantial and incomplete evidence?
Poland is in for travel down a rocky and turbulent road.
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