Warsaw (AFP) – Poland’s former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, wanted on several criminal charges in his home country, has fled Hungary to the United States, he confirmed on Sunday, following local media reports. “I am in the United States,” Ziobro told right-wing broadcaster Republika. “I arrived yesterday, and this is my third time traveling around the country,” he added.
Ziobro, who received asylum from right-wing ally Viktor Orban’s government last year, faces up to 25 years in prison in Poland if convicted of the charges laid against him. They include abuse of power, leading an organised criminal enterprise, and using funds meant for crime victims to buy Israeli Pegasus spyware, allegedly to monitor political opponents.
After Orban’s party was ousted from power in an election in April, Hungary’s new Prime Minister Peter Magyar — who was sworn in on Saturday — said that Hungary would no longer protect people wanted elsewhere. “Hungary will no longer be a dumping ground for internationally wanted criminals,” he told journalists the day after his victory, naming as examples Ziobro and his former deputy, Marcin Romanowski, suspected of embezzling nearly 40 million euros ($47 million).
The Republika broadcaster reported earlier on Sunday that Ziobro was in the US, while liberal broadcaster TVN24 published a photo of Ziobro at Newark Liberty International Airport, which it said had been taken by another traveller. It is unclear how Ziobro managed to travel to the United States, as Poland had previously said his travel documents — including his Polish and diplomatic passports — had been revoked. Local news site Onet reported that Ziobro had received a US journalist visa linked to Republika. The broadcaster, aligned with the Polish right, later announced it had hired the ex-justice minister as their political commentator in the US.
Current Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek wrote on X that Poland “will reach out to the USA and Hungary with questions regarding the legal basis that enabled Zbigniew Ziobro to… enter the United States despite lacking valid documents.” “We will not cease our efforts to ensure that he and Mr. Marcin Romanowski are held accountable before the Polish justice system,” he said. Earlier, Zurek told the Polsat broadcaster: “If it is confirmed that Ziobro is in the USA, then (Poland) will request his extradition.”
Ziobro was the leader of the ultra-conservative Sovereign Poland party, a junior coalition partner of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, and served as justice minister and attorney general between 2015 and 2023. He is also known as the architect of contentious judicial reforms which sparked a standoff between Poland and the European Commission.
Asked by Republika about his potential extradition, Ziobro replied: “I am ready to appear before any court, and an American independent court is certainly an independent court.” If they want to initiate extradition proceedings, by all means,” he added, calling extradition cases in US courts “a demanding procedure.” He has rejected the charges against him, accusing the centrist Polish government of conducting a witch hunt against conservatives.
© 2024 AFP
