Poland's wanted ex-justice minister flees Hungary for U.S.

by · UPI

May 11 (UPI) -- Poland's former justice minister, wanted on misappropriation-related charges, has fled Hungary for the United States, confirming in an interview with Polish media that he was in the country.

Zbigniew Ziobro's exact location in the United States was unknown, but TVN24 reported that the wanted former justice minister was photographed at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

He said he was in the United States in a Sunday interview with Poland's right-wing TV Republika broadcaster, clips of which Ziobro published to his social media accounts.

"I am not afraid of the court; an American court is certainly an independent court," the caption to the clip posted to Facebook read. "If they want to bring an extradition case, go right ahead."

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Ziobro is wanted in Poland, where prosecutors have moved to charge him with 26 offenses alleging that he failed to perform his duties and exceeded his authority as minister of justice and prosecutor general, positions he held from November 2015 until November 2023, according to a statement from the National Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors allege that he founded and led an organized criminal group and misappropriated or attempted to misappropriate money from the Justice Fund, a state fund intended to help crime victims.

Prosecutors moved in late October to strip Ziobro of his immunity. On Nov. 7, Poland's parliament agreed to lift that immunity, clearing the way for prosecutors to seek his detention and formally charge him.

But Ziobro was already in Hungary. A day before prosecutors moved to charge him, Ziobro said he had been "invited" to Budapest to show a film critical of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

In January, Ziobro announced online that he had accepted asylum granted to him by Hungary, claiming he's been a target of "Tusk's personal vendetta" and a victim of political persecution.

In April, opposition leader Peter Magyar and his pro-Europe center-right Tisza party defeated Hungary's longtime authoritarian-leaning prime minister, Viktor Orban.

Magyar vowed during his campaign that, if elected prime minister, he would extradite Ziobro, and he was sworn in on Saturday.

Following the news that Ziobro was no longer in Hungary, Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Zurek said his office would contact both the United States and Hungary "with questions" concerning the legality of Ziobro's departure from Hungary and entry into the United States, stating they had invalidated his travel documents, including his diplomatic passport.

"We count on your cooperation," Zurek said in a statement.

Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported that Ziobro received a visa that was personally approved by U.S. President Donald Trump, who is a close ally of Orban.

UPI has contacted the U.S. Embassy in Budapest for comment and confirmation.