Bąkiewicz, a former leader of the Independence March Association and one‑time parliamentary candidate for the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, was given a year’s community service in 2022 for shoving a women’s rights protester down church steps during 2020 demonstrations against stricter abortion laws.
The verdict became final last November.
Duda’s decree lifts only the work requirement; the activist must still pay PLN 10,000 (USD 2,730) in damages, reimburse more than PLN 3,000 in court costs and publish the judgment. His conviction also remains on record.
The Polish President's Office said clemency is a “special, partly confidential” procedure stemming from the head of state’s constitutional prerogatives, adding that some documents generated in the process are not public.
Opposition figures denounced the decision.
“By pardoning a woman beater, Duda sums up his disastrous presidency,” liberal lawmaker Zbigniew Konwiński, head of the parliamentary caucus of the ruling Civic Coalition (KO), wrote on social media.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski sarcastically urged the president to extend his “support” to other hard‑right figures.
“Is this a Poland where victims are silenced and perpetrators get absolution?” asked KO lawmaker Witold Zembaczyński.
Bąkiewicz recently organized self‑styled citizen patrols on the German border under his Border Defense Movement.
Duda’s second and final term ends on August 6, when President‑elect Karol Nawrocki is due to take office.
(jh)
Source: Polskie Radio 24, PAP