More Poles granted asylum by Orban? The government still doesn't know who Budapest is protecting

Maciej Wewiór, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told PAP that the Hungarian ambassador arrived at the ministry on Friday afternoon. We still have not received an answer from the Hungarian side as to who was granted asylum, Wewiór added.

Just before Christmas, the Hungarian delegation to the EU sent a letter to the representations of all member states with information that Hungary had granted asylum to two Polish citizens, the investigative portal VSquare reported, without giving the names of these people.

– This afternoon, the Hungarian ambassador arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was informed of his objection to the actions and statements of representatives of the Hungarian authorities, which are contrary to the principle of cooperation in force in the EU – said the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

– We also reminded the ambassador that after granting political asylum to Marcin Romanowski, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to dismiss the Polish ambassador in Budapest. We still have not received an answer from the Hungarian side as to who was granted asylum, Wewiór added.

In December 2024, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, summoned the Polish ambassador to Hungary “for indefinite consultations in Warsaw” after the country granted asylum to a PiS MP, former deputy minister of justice Marcin Romanowski, who is a suspect in the investigation into the operation of the Justice Fund during the PiS government.

On July 15 last year, Sebastian Kęciek finished his work as the Polish ambassador to Hungary – the Ministry of Diplomacy informed at that time. Poland is represented in this country by a diplomat with the rank of charge d'affaires.

Hungarian authorities did not disclose the names of those granted asylum. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice did not respond to VSquare's request for comment. Thus, the number of Polish citizens who received asylum in Hungary increased to three.

In December 2024, Hungary granted asylum to Romanowski, who is suspected of committing 19 crimes in the investigation into irregularities in the Justice Fund. The prosecutor's office accuses Romanowski of, among others, participation in an organized criminal group and rigging competitions for money from this fund. The District Court in Warsaw, at the request of the prosecutor's office, issued a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) against him in December 2024. The order was revoked in December 2025 by the District Court in Warsaw, after which Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek announced that he had again requested the EAW to be applied to Romanowski.

Former Minister of Justice, PiS MP Zbigniew Ziobro, is also in Hungary.

At the beginning of November last year The Sejm waived Ziobro's immunity and consented to his possible detention and temporary arrest. The decision was the result of the message submitted at the end of October last year. the prosecutor's office requested permission to prosecute Ziobro in connection with the intention to bring 26 charges against him. Their essence is the suspicion of rigging competitions for multi-million subsidies from the Justice Fund during the PiS government. According to the prosecutor's office, Ziobro acted in order to obtain financial benefits for other people and personal and political benefits for himself, and he did it together, among others, with his deputies Marcin Romanowski and Michał Wosiem.

November 7 last year the prosecutor issued a decision to charge Ziobro, as well as to detain him and forcibly bring him to the Internal Security Agency. It turned out that Ziobro was not in Poland – he was in Budapest at the time, and later also appeared in Brussels. In mid-November last year the prosecutor's office sent an application for the temporary arrest of the former minister to the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów. The court dealt with this request on December 22 last year. and adjourned the hearing regarding Ziobro's possible arrest until January 15, 2026.

During his stay in Hungary, Ziobro met, among others, with Orban. He did not clearly declare that he would apply for political asylum in Hungary or that he would return to Poland. Last December he assured that he would appear in the country within a few hours if – as he said – “random assignment of cases to judges is restored”, “illegally dismissed court presidents” and “legal authority in the prosecutor's office, including the legal national prosecutor” will be restored.

In mid-December last year Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek stated that if Ziobro tries to apply for political asylum and Hungary grants it to him, just like Marcin Romanowski, the government must start appealing against these decisions in the forum of European courts. (PAP)

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