Daniel Obajtek charged with false testimony and pulling weekly from Orlen shelves, calls charges a source of pride

Charges presented to former Orlen chief

Daniel Obajtek appeared at the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday, 28 July 2026, and was charged in two separate cases. The first concerns his decision in March 2023, while CEO of PKN Orlen, to withdraw an issue of the weekly magazine "Nie" from all Orlen retail points. The second involves suspected false testimony before a court regarding his acquaintance with journalist Piotr Nisztor. The European Parliament lifted Obajtek's immunity in both cases in April 2026.

Refusal to testify and reaction

Obajtek refused to provide explanations and did not plead guilty to the charges. Speaking to reporters after leaving the prosecutor's office, he addressed the circumstances of the charges and the timing of the prosecutor's career move.

“Of course I refused to provide explanations, I do not plead guilty to the acts I am charged with. What a coincidence that the prosecutor was promoted before bringing charges against me.”

He described the charge related to journalist Nisztor as "unserious" and without justification. Regarding the withdrawal of the "Nie" weekly, Obajtek stated he was "proud" of the charge, calling the decision justified because the cover offended religious feelings, the cross, and Saint John Paul II.

PiS demonstration outside prosecutor's office

Before the scheduled questioning, PiS politicians and supporters gathered in front of the prosecutor's office in a show of support. Deputy party leader Przemysław Czarnek, Antoni Macierewicz, Dariusz Matecki, Michał Woś, and Waldemar Buda (a member of the "Rozwój Plus" association linked to Mateusz Morawiecki) were among those present. One demonstrator shouted "Bravo Daniel Obajtek, we are all Obajteks." Czarnek framed the charges in broader terms.

“Today they will want to bring charges against Daniel Obajtek for saving Polishness.”

Obajtek thanked the crowd for their support. He argued there is no consent in Poland to desecrate religious symbols or to disgrace Saint John Paul II, stating that "almost 40 years after communism, the methods are the same."

Origin of the two investigations

The magazine case stems from Obajtek's own defence: he had written during the immunity-lifting procedure that he considered the withdrawal "entirely appropriate because it offended religious feelings, the cross, and Saint John Paul II," adding that if he had to lose his immunity for it, he accepted it with pride.

The false testimony case began with a notification filed by journalist Grzegorz Jakubowski, connected to a private prosecution trial before the District Court for Warsaw-Śródmieście. Jakubowski accused Obajtek of lying in court on 11 May 2023 about the nature of his relationship with Nisztor. He cited a 2018 recording published by Onet in March 2024, which allegedly shows informal contacts between the two men. According to Onet, Nisztor asked Obajtek for a job for his wife, and the pair also discussed political threads uncomfortable for the then-ruling PiS. Onet also reported that a listening device had been planted in the Orlen CEO's office. The prosecutor's office issued a decision on 28 June 2026 declining to open an investigation into the bugging, citing Article 17 paragraph 1 point 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: the act was not committed or there is insufficient data to justify a suspicion it was committed.