The newly appointed government of Hungary, led by Peter Magyar, has rescinded the refugee status of former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro and his deputy, Marcin Romanowski, as announced by Warsaw on Thursday. The Polish authorities are seeking to bring both individuals back to Poland to face allegations of abuse of power after they fled Hungary, according to reports.
With this decision, Ziobro and Romanowski can no longer utilize refugee travel documents that enabled their exit from Hungary just as a new government was being established in Budapest.
Ziobro left Hungary for the United States on May 9, coinciding with Magyar’s inauguration. Romanowski’s current whereabouts remain unknown.
Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who lost the April elections to Magyar, had granted asylum to Romanowski, Ziobro, and Ziobro’s wife, Patrycja.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski confirmed via a post on social media that Hungary has revoked the refugee status for Marcin Romanowski, Zbigniew Ziobro, and Patrycja Kotecka-Ziobro. “They have also had their travel documents invalidated. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they do turn,” he added.
Defense Attorney Accuses Polish Government of Persecution
Bartosz Lewandowski, the attorney representing Romanowski and Ziobro, alleges that the Polish government has exerted significant pressure on the new Hungarian administration to strip the two men of their “international protection.”
“Since 2023, the entire Polish governmental apparatus has focused on persecuting political opposition in Poland,” he asserted.
In Poland, Ziobro and Romanowski, who served in the nationalist Law and Justice party that lost power in 2023, face accusations primarily related to the misuse of funds intended for crime victims for political purposes.
They deny the allegations and claim to be the victims of politically motivated cases stemming from their investigations into alleged crimes committed by individuals close to the current Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk.
Reuters previously reported that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau instructed senior officials at the State Department to facilitate and approve a visa for Romanowski. Both Landau and the department declined to comment on the matter.
Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek stated on social media, “We will contact relevant institutions in the United States to determine if individuals without valid travel documents can continue to reside in the United States.”
