Polish ex-minister flees Hungary to the US after PM Magyar says country won’t protect people wanted elsewhere | Poland
Poland’s former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is wanted in his home country on various charges, confirmed on Sunday that he fled Hungary to the United States after receiving asylum from the government of former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán last year.
“I’m in the USA,” Ziobro told right-wing Polish broadcaster Republika. “I arrived yesterday and this is my third time traveling around the country,” he said.
Ziobro faces up to 25 years in prison in Poland if convicted of the charges against him. These include abuse of power, leading an organized crime syndicate, and using crime victim funds to purchase Israeli Pegasus spyware, allegedly to monitor political opponents.
He denied the charges against him, accusing the centrist Polish government of waging a witch hunt against conservatives.
Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, who was sworn in on Saturday after Orbán’s party was ousted from power in an election in April, said Hungary would no longer protect people wanted elsewhere.
“Hungary will no longer be a dumping ground for internationally wanted criminals,” he told reporters the day after his victory, citing Ziobro and his former deputy Marcin Romanowski, who is suspected of embezzling nearly 40 million euros ($47 million) as examples.
While broadcaster Republika reported early Sunday that Ziobro was in the United States, liberal broadcaster TVN24 published a photo of Ziobro that it said was taken by another traveler at Newark Liberty International airport.
It is unclear how Ziobro was able to travel to the United States, as Poland previously said his travel documents, including his Polish and diplomatic passports, had been revoked.
Local news site Onet reported that Ziobro received a US journalist visa affiliated with Republika. The broadcaster, which is aligned with the Polish right, later announced that it had hired the former justice minister as its political commentator in the United States.
The current Polish justice minister, Waldemar Zurek, wrote in
“We will spare no effort to ensure that he and Mr. Marcin Romanowski are held accountable before the Polish justice system,” he said.
Zurek had previously told broadcaster Polsat: “If it is confirmed that Ziobro is in the US then [Poland] will request its extradition.”
Ziobro was the leader of the ultraconservative 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 controversial judicial reforms that led to a split between Poland and the European Commission.
Asked by Republika about potential extradition, Ziobro replied: “I am ready to appear before any court, and an independent American court is certainly an independent court.”
Describing extradition cases in US courts as a “difficult procedure”, he added: “If they want to initiate extradition proceedings, of course.”
