Polish prosecutor Henryk W. loses immunity and faces charges after drunk driving on A4 motorway
Poland's Supreme Court stripped Opole deputy regional prosecutor Henryk W. of his immunity within 24 hours of his arrest on the A4 motorway, where tests showed nearly three per mille alcohol in his system.
Motorway arrest near Mirocin
On the evening of 29 September 2026, shortly after 21:00, officers from the Przeworsk County Police headquarters intercepted a Kia passenger car on the A4 motorway near the village of Mirocin in the Podkarpackie region. Patrol officers intervened after noticing that the driver struggled to maintain a proper trajectory in his lane. The driver was identified as 53-year-old Henryk W., the deputy regional prosecutor in Opole, who was on official sick leave at the time of his journey. Police officers administered four consecutive breathalyzer tests, measuring alcohol concentrations between 1.18 and 1.47 milligrams per litre, corresponding to roughly 2.4 to nearly 3 per mille. Because officers apprehended the suspect in the act of committing a crime, they transported him directly to a police detention facility without requiring advance authorization from a disciplinary supervisor.
Disciplinary suspension and dismissal
The arrest triggered rapid disciplinary measures within the Polish prosecution service on 30 September 2026. Stanisław Bar, representing the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Opole, confirmed that the office initiated emergency administrative procedures under the Law on the Public Prosecution.
Henryk W. was suspended for six months from his official duties. A motion was also sent to the National Prosecutor's Office to dismiss him from his post and to reduce his salary by 50 percent.
National Prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk approved the dismissal request on the same day, removing Henryk W. from his post as deputy regional prosecutor. The regional office in Opole subsequently removed his name and profile from its official website.
Supreme Court lifts immunity
Leadership at the National Prosecutor's Office assigned the criminal investigation to its specialized Internal Affairs Department. Under Polish statutory regulations, prosecutors enjoy legal immunity that prevents investigative bodies from issuing formal criminal indictments or filing charges without prior judicial consent.
- Police stop Henryk W. on the A4 motorway near Mirocin for driving while intoxicated
- Henryk W. is suspended for six months and dismissed from his deputy regional prosecutor post
- The Supreme Court waives judicial immunity and internal affairs prosecutors file formal charges
On 1 October 2026, an internal affairs prosecutor submitted a formal motion asking the Supreme Court to adopt a resolution authorizing criminal proceedings against Henryk W. The Supreme Court reviewed and approved the motion on the exact same day, lifting the prosecutor's institutional immunity within a 24-hour window.
Criminal charges and bail terms
With immunity lifted, investigators from the Internal Affairs Department summoned Henryk W. and formally presented charges of operating a motor vehicle in an intoxicated state on the A4 motorway on 29 September 2026. Przemysław Nowak, press spokesperson for the National Prosecutor's Office, detailed the procedural steps following the interrogation.
The prosecutor from the Internal Affairs Department of the National Prosecutor's Office presented Henryk W. with the charge of driving a car in a state of intoxication on the A4 motorway on 29 September 2026. He admitted to committing the alleged act and provided explanations.
In Poland, driving under the influence of alcohol carries a statutory penalty of up to three years of imprisonment. As non-custodial preventive measures during the ongoing investigation, prosecutors ordered Henryk W. to deposit 10,000 PLN in bail and issued a formal ban prohibiting him from operating mechanical vehicles.
