Upon the request of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance, Dr Jarosław Szarek, the Marshal of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński was awarded the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity. In his substantiation of the application Szarek emphasized the great involvement of Marek Kuchciński in the opposition activity.

The Cross, awarded by order of the President of the Republic of Poland, is an award for activists of the opposition against the communist dictatorship, who in the period from 1 January 1956 to 4 June 1989, excluding the period from 31 August 1980 to 12 December 1981, in the territory of Poland for at least 12 months:

• were active members of illegal organizations which aimed to regain Poland's independence and sovereignty or to respect human rights in the People's Republic of Poland, or
• carried out activities threatened with criminal liability or repression in favor of regaining Polish independence and sovereignty or respect for human rights in the People's Republic of Poland.

The ceremony for the awarding of the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity by the President of the IPN will take place on October 11, 2016 at 4 p.m. at the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic Hall at 30 Fryderyka Szopena Street in Rzeszów.