Poland’s president says he will not rest until ex-interior minister and deputy freed from prison

Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, is closely aligned with the nationalist Law and Justice party, which lost its majority in elections last October. Photograph: Kuba Stężycki/Reuters

Poland’s president has said he will not rest until two politicians from the opposition nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party – both on hunger strike – are freed from prison, in a further dramatic escalation in the new government’s battle to restore the rule of law.

“I will not rest in the fight for a fair and just Polish state,” the president, Andrzej Duda, who is closely aligned with PiS, declared on Wednesday. “I won’t be scared. I will act legally, in accordance with the constitution and the law – as before.”