Poland seeks answers from US on how wanted former justice minister was able to enter the country

Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office has written to the US ambassador asking for confirmation that former Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is wanted on a wide range of criminal charges, is in the United States and, if so, on what basis he was able to enter the country.

Ziobro had previously been granted asylum in Hungary by the government of Viktor Orbán, who is an ally of Ziobro’s national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party. Both Orbán and PiS are also closely aligned with US President Donald Trump.

Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, who was sworn in on Saturday, had promised to extradite Ziobro to Poland. But, before he could do so, Ziobro announced on Sunday that he had left Hungary and arrived in the US.

On Monday afternoon, the National Prosecutor’s Office revealed that it had sent a letter to American ambassador Thomas Rose requesting information as to whether Ziobro and his former deputy justice minister, Marcin Romanowski, who also had asylum in Hungary, are indeed in the US.

If so, prosecutors have asked the US to clarify “when and using which documents they crossed the border” (both Ziobro and Romanowski have had their Polish passports revoked) and “whether the suspects claimed refugee status or applied for asylum”.

So far, there has been no official comment from the US authorities as to the circumstances of Ziobro’s arrival. “Due to the confidential nature of visa information, we are not providing any information on this matter,” the State Department told Marek Wałkuski, the White House correspondent for Polskie Radio.

However, on Monday, one of Ziobro’s lawyers, Bartosz Lewandowski, told Polsat News that Ziobro had travelled on a so-called “Geneva passport” – a travel document that can be granted to someone with refugee status.

Noting that Poland has not yet issued a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) or Interpol Red Notice for Ziobro, Lewandowski said that Ziobro was “free to travel outside Poland and took advantage of this”.

Lewandowski also confirmed that Romanowski has a Geneva passport. However, unlike Ziobro, Romanowski is subject to an EAW, making his legal and travel situation more complicated. Lewandowski did not confirm Romanowski’s current whereabouts.

Polish prosecutors have sought to issue an EAW for Ziobro but must first await a court decision on an appeal by the politician against a decision to remand him in custody. That is a legal precondition for issuing international warrants and seeking extradition. A hearing on that appeal is due to take place in September.

However, an EAW only applies within the European Union, meaning it would have no bearing on Ziobro’s situation in the US. To secure his extradition, Poland would have to rely on bilateral agreements with the US.

However, extradition proceedings could last “not months, but several years”, said Przemysław Nowak, spokesman for the National Prosecutor’s Office, quoted by broadcaster TVN. “Cooperation with the US [on extradition] takes a long time and is often difficult.”

On Monday, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, the speaker of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, told Polsat News that Poland may have to “rethink” its relationship with Washington if the US makes it difficult for Ziobro to be extradited.

“If the American authorities, our closest friend, do not extradite Ziobro, it will turn out that the assessments I had about the leadership in the USA will be partially confirmed again and we, as a Polish state, will have to rethink our policy towards various decisions that we are to make together with the USA,” he said.

Czarzasty, who is a leading figure in the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, has regularly criticised Trump, prompting strong criticism from Rose, who cut off all ties with the speaker.

On Sunday, Gazeta Wyborcza, a leading Polish daily, reported, based on unnamed sources, that Trump had intervened personally to ensure that Ziobro was able to obtain a US visa. However, that remains unconfirmed.

Ziobro served as justice minister and prosecutor general during PiS’s time in power from 2015 to 2023. He was the architect of a series of controversial and contested judicial reforms, which Polish and European courts have repeatedly found to have violated the law.

After PiS lost power in December 2023, a new, more liberal government led by Tusk began a series of investigations into alleged corruption and abuses of power under the former administration.

Ziobro is accused of committing a variety of crimes, including leading a criminal group and approving the unlawful purchase of Pegasus spyware. If found guilty, he could face up to 25 years in prison. Ziobro denies the offences and claims to be the victim of a “political vendetta” against him by Tusk.

In October, the government’s majority in parliament approved the lifting of Ziobro’s immunity from prosecution. However, he had by then already travelled to Hungary, where he met personally with Orbán and was then granted asylum in December.

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.