Hungary: asylum for former Polish minister Ziobro
Hungary has granted asylum to Poland's former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro. The Polish public prosecutor's office has brought numerous charges against him, including embezzlement of state funds and leading a criminal organisation. Ziobro was justice minister in the PiS government from 2015 to 2023 and is considered the architect of a controversial judicial reform. What's behind this unusual situation between EU states?
Simply grotesque
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung considers the whole affair to be a farce:
“Ziobro is indeed facing a long prison sentence in Poland related to his role in the right-wing government that was voted out in October 2023. But the charges also include embezzlement on a grand scale and the illegal purchase of spyware, which was used against the opposition. It is grotesque for Ziobro to now complain about judges in Poland lacking independence. After all, it was he who pushed for the Polish judiciary to be refashioned into a political instrument of the ruling party during the PiS government's term in office. Unlike his opponents at the time, he can now expect a fair trial.”
A coward not a martyr
Ziobro made a fatal mistake for himself and the PiS, Gazeta Wyborcza is convinced:
“Ziobro could have become a martyr for the PiS. He could have allowed himself to be arrested, faced the prosecutor and listened to the charges. He could have appeared in court for his detention hearing. The outcome would not have been a foregone conclusion; after all, the judge refused to issue an arrest warrant against him in December. ... Ziobro would have been given a fair trial, and it is by no means out of the question that he would have successfully defended himself. ... This cowardice will have consequences for his party, which – as PiS politicians openly concede – will go downhill as a result.”
Learning bitter truths about the rule of law
Zbigniew Ziobro fears the consequences of his own policies, scoffs András Kaisinger, a lawyer with Amnesty International, in 444:
“When someone overturns the table, no one's place is secure anymore. It is an irony of fate that Zbigniew Ziobro, who has done everything in his power to ensure that people loyal to him sit on the judges' bench, is now complaining about the Polish judiciary being biased and is shirking responsibility. His escape to Brussels and Budapest is the most important admission a politician who plays a leading role in dismantling the rule of law can make: a good court is not one that you fill with your own people, but one that is beyond the reach of politicians.”
Poles being played off against each other
On news site Interia, political scientist Jarosław Kuisz takes a closer look at the motives of Hungary's leadership in the Ziobro case:
“The Hungarian Prime Minister is clearly enjoying himself at the expense of Polish politicians. They come to him on their knees. He graciously grants them asylum. Orbán is interfering in Polish politics because he naturally expects to be shown gratitude for this in the future. The lack of restraint on the part of the politicians and the lack of sober judgement on the part of us citizens make it easier for the Hungarian politician to play the Poles off against each other. This is painful – at a time when everyone is expressing the will to defend sovereignty.”