Polish president pardons two jailed former government ministers

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday pardoned two members of the former government, who were then released from prison at his urging, in line with demands from the main opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party that lost power last month.
Former interior minister Mariusz Kaminski and his deputy Maciej Wasik were released after 9 p.m. local time.
They were jailed this month after being sentenced for abuse of power in their previous roles. Both men went on hunger strike, claiming to be “political prisoners”, and their jailing triggered large protests by tens of thousands of PiS supporters.
Duda, a PiS ally, had pardoned both politicians after they were first sentenced in 2015 but Poland’s Supreme Court deemed his move invalid, saying a presidential pardon could not be granted before a final ruling in the case was issued.