Bloomberg – citing “Gazeta Wyborcza” – indicates that the Polish politician and his wife, Patrycja Kotecka, “arrived in the United States after President Donald Trump personally intervened to approve their visas.” “This is a decision contrary to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose,” we read.
The information was also reported by Politico, citing Hungarian media. “Zbigniew Ziobro is wanted in Poland on allegations of misappropriation of public funds and the use of Pegasus spyware against political opponents. He consistently denies the allegations, calling the investigation a political revenge of Prime Minister Donald Tusk,” we read.
Politico article about Zbigniew ZiobroPolitico
The Italian branch of Euronews also draws attention to the fact that Zbigniew Ziobro went to New York. “Until now, Ziobro lived in Budapest, Hungary. He obtained asylum there from former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. After the defeat of the Fidesz party and the takeover of power by the TISHA party, its leader Peter Magyar announced that the former minister would no longer be able to benefit from the protection of the Hungarian government,” we read. The website also indicates that the former minister faces a penalty of up to 25 years in prison in Poland.
The case is described, among others, EuronewsEuronews
AFP, in turn, points out that the spokesman of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment on the whereabouts of Zbigniew Ziobro. “It is unclear how Zbigniew Ziobro managed to reach the United States, as Poland had previously informed about the invalidation of his Polish passport,” we read.
The agency also indicates that Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said in an interview for Polsat that if it is confirmed that Ziobro is in the US, Poland will request his extradition. “Ziobro was the leader of the ultraconservative Sovereign Poland party, a PiS coalition partner. […] He is also known as the architect of controversial judicial reforms that caused an impasse between Poland and the European Commission. [Polityk] He rejected the charges against him and accused the centrist Polish government of waging a campaign against conservatives,” the cable says.
AFP published a cable about Zbigniew ZiobroScreenshot / AFP
The Hungarian website 24.hu writes that “a Polish refugee from Fidesz [został] photographed at an airport in the USA. [Wcześniej] received asylum in Budapest from the government of Viktor Orban, which was an unprecedented event in Europe,” we read.
Zbigniew Ziobro's departure is described by 24.hu24.hu
Another Hungarian website, 444.hu, also writes critically about asylum for the former Polish minister in a new article. “Zbigniew Ziobro fled from Hungary on the same day that Peter Magyar was sworn in as prime minister,” says the headline. “The Hungarian government claimed that 'democracy and the rule of law in Poland are in crisis,' but in fact it adopted a politician accused of leading an organized criminal group and embezzling PLN 150 million, thus doing a favor to its former ally, PiS, which had distanced itself from [w ostatnim czasie] from Fidesz because of Hungary's pro-Russian foreign policy,” the website notes.
Hungarian Telex indicates that at the end of October last year the former Polish minister posed for a photo with the Prime Minister of Hungary. “Viktor Orban then said that the Polish government, which was supportive of Brussels, had started a political campaign against the Polish right-wing, and the case against Ziobro was part of this campaign,” the journalists recall. “In 2024, Viktor Orban's government also welcomed Marcin Romanowski, a Polish politician accused of corruption, whom Direkt36 found in the apartment of a Fidesz faction employee,” we read.
About Zbigniew Ziobro he writes, among others: TelexTelex
Zbigniew Ziobro was supposed to go to the USA. The photo went viral on the Internet
The former justice minister and attorney general was scheduled to be seen in the US on Saturday. According to wPolityce, Zbigniew Ziobro flew out of Hungary on Saturday and has an American visa.
The National Prosecutor's Office announced on Sunday on the X platform that there is currently no data that would confirm the information that former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro left the Schengen area. “All information in this regard is verified on an ongoing basis,” we read in the entry.
Zbigniew Ziobro pursued by the prosecutor's office. It's about the Justice Fund scandal
