Hungary grants asylum to former minister from fellow EU member Poland
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Poland’s former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro is accused of misusing money from the Justice Fund, which was designed to help victims of crime.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WARSAW – Hungary has granted Poland’s former justice minister asylum, he said on Jan 12, as the architect of judicial reforms that pushed Warsaw into years of conflict with the EU seeks to avoid abuse of power charges he calls politically motivated.
The case underlines the deepening rift between two EU and NATO members once seen as close allies, adding to turbulence in a region where the war in Ukraine and changes in US foreign policy under US President Donald Trump have upended old certainties.
“I decided to take advantage of the asylum granted to me by the Hungarian government due to political repressions in Poland,” former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro wrote on X.
Alleged misuse of public money
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-EU government has vowed to see figures linked to the former nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) administration accused of wrongdoing brought to justice.
Mr Ziobro, the most high-profile figure targeted by prosecutors so far, is accused of misuse of money from the Justice Fund, designed to help victims of crime, including for the purchase of the sophisticated Pegasus spyware system. Prosecutors say that was used against domestic political opponents.
Mr Ziobro said he is the victim of a political witch hunt because, as prosecutor-general, he launched investigations into people close to Mr Tusk.
He said on Jan 11 that he had also applied for asylum for his wife. On Jan 9, Poland summoned the Hungarian ambassador after reports that Budapest had granted asylum to two unnamed Poles.
In 2024, Hungary angered Poland by giving asylum to Mr Marcin Romanowski, a former deputy justice minister in the PiS government, who is also accused of misuse of public funds.
The Hungarian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Members of Poland’s ruling coalition were quick to condemn the tough-talking former minister’s decision to seek safety abroad rather than face charges at home.
“The former Minister of Justice fleeing like a coward from the Polish justice system. A total downfall,” said Minister-in-charge of Special Services Tomasz Siemoniak in a post on social media platform X. REUTERS
