The double life sentence given to convicted rapist Jakub Tomczak by an court in England is binding and will not be adjusted to Polish law, the Supreme Court has ruled in Warsaw.

In 2008 a court in Exeter, western England, sentenced the Pole to a double life sentence for raping and severely injuring a 48 year-old British woman.

Polish law, however, only stipulates up to 12 years in prison for rape and Tomczak’s council was attempting to get his sentence reduced.

“This is the first time a Polish culprit will face a life sentence for a crime in Poland other than murder,” said Euro MP, Janusz Wojciechowski. “We will appeal to the Constitutional Tribunal about a law that forces us to automatically respect a sentence passed abroad,” he said.

Wojciechowski wants to organize a debate in the European Parliament, about legal proceedings and precedents in similar cases. (un/pg)