The Polish prosecutor’s office accused ex-minister Zbigniew Ziobr of illegally using the Justice Fund for political purposes. The canceled immunity made it possible to prosecute him.
The Polish Prosecutor’s Office wants to bring 26 charges against Zbigniew Ziobra, the former Minister of Justice from the time of the government of the Law and Justice party (PiS), in the case of the Justice Fund, from which, according to it, he was supposed to illegally allocate subsidies to related entities and misuse the money for political purposes. After the Sejm revoked his immunity on Friday and allowed his detention, Ziobro is staying in Budapest. Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced on Wednesday that sooner or later he will stand before Polish justice. According to the PAP agency, the Warsaw correspondent TASR reports on this.
In short:
- The Polish Prosecutor’s Office accused Zbigniew Ziobr in the Justice Fund case
- The charges include misuse of funds for political purposes
- Ziobro is located in Budapest after immunity has been lifted
Justice Fund
The Justice Fund is a state tool designed to help victims of crimes and people after serving a sentence. However, during Ziobr’s tenure at the head of the Ministry of Justice (2015 – 2023), according to the investigators, he also served political purposes, financing related media or projects associated with the Law and Justice (PiS) party. The allegations also include the illegal allocation of money to the Anti-Corruption Bureau to buy Pegasus tracking software.
Ziobra’s reaction
On Monday, the ex-minister strongly objected on the X platform and accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk of an attempt to illegally deprive him of his freedom, which, according to him, was accompanied by judicial machinations. He claims that the decision on custody should have been made by an instructed judge and that the government is influencing the judiciary.
Health problems
Prime Minister Tusk emphasized that the reckoning with the abuse of power is a fact and that even those under arrest have health care. Ziobra was diagnosed with aggressive esophageal cancer in 2023, for which he is being treated in Belgium. President Karol Nawrocki rejected speculation about a pardon for Ziobra. “You cannot pardon an innocent person,” he said in this regard.
Political consequences
Former President Andrzej Duda described the prosecution’s action as the government’s revenge and the continuation of the process of subverting the right. Ziobra’s lawyer, Bartosz Lewandowski, said his client had proposed a hearing in Belgium or Hungary and that he was not in hiding. According to him, the prosecutor’s office is considering the next procedure with regard to the former minister’s state of health.
