Poland’s former justice minister and prosecutor general Zbigniew Ziobro has accused liberal Prime Minister Donald Tusk of launching a “political revenge” campaign, after prosecutors sought to strip him of parliamentary immunity and authorise his arrest on corruption charges.
Prosecutors allege that Ziobro—a minister of the previous conservative government—committed 26 offences during his tenure, including the embezzlement of more than 150 million złoty (€35 million) of public funds, and the formation of a “criminal group” within the ministry.
He denies all allegations, calling them “absurd and politically motivated.”
Speaking at a press conference in Budapest on Thursday, November 6th—where he recently attended a conference on the abuses of the Tusk government—Ziobro said he had been informed that he would be detained upon his return to Poland.
Tusk’s revenge has entered a new phase. He has reasons to seek revenge—under my leadership, prosecutors pursued serious corruption cases involving his closest allies.
The Polish parliament’s disciplinary committee is expected to vote on Thursday on whether to lift Ziobro’s immunity and approve his temporary detention. A full parliamentary vote could follow by Friday evening.
Ziobro, who is battling a serious form of cancer, has framed the case as part of a wider purge of conservative figures by Tusk’s left-liberal government, which opponents accuse of politicising the justice system.
With one of his former deputies, Marcin Romanowski, already granted political asylum in Hungary, speculation is mounting that Ziobro may seek refuge in Budapest as well. His presence in the Hungarian capital—where he has allies in the form of the ruling conservative party led by Viktor Orbán—has fuelled expectations that he may not return to Poland voluntarily.
