Poland's former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro has confirmed he has fled from Hungary to the United States, after being granted asylum by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government last year. Ziobro faces multiple criminal charges in Poland, including abuse of power and leading an organised criminal enterprise, which he denies.
In an interview with right-wing Polish broadcaster Republika on Sunday, Ziobro stated: "I am in the United States. I arrived yesterday, and this is my third time travelling around the country." He faces up to 25 years in prison in Poland if convicted on charges that also include using funds meant for crime victims to purchase Israeli Pegasus spyware, allegedly to monitor political opponents. Ziobro has rejected the accusations, calling them a "witch-hunt" by the centrist Polish government against conservatives.
Hungary's new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, who was sworn in on Saturday after his party ousted Orbán's in an April election, declared that Hungary would no longer protect individuals wanted elsewhere. "Hungary will no longer be a dumping ground for internationally wanted criminals," Magyar told journalists, naming Ziobro and his former deputy, Marcin Romanowski, who is 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, taken by another traveller. It remains unclear how Ziobro managed to travel to the US, as Poland had previously revoked his travel documents, including his Polish and diplomatic passports. 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 former justice minister as its political commentator in the US.
Poland's current 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." He added: "We will not cease our efforts to ensure that he and Mr. Marcin Romanowski are held accountable before the Polish justice system." Earlier, Zurek told 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 that sparked a standoff between Poland and the European Commission. When asked by Republika about 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," adding that extradition cases in US courts are "a demanding procedure."
