On Thursday, the Polish General Prosecutor’s Office asked the court in Warsaw to take into custody the former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobr. The way to this was paved by the parliament a week ago by canceling the immunity of Ziobra, who is an opposition deputy. TASR informs about it based on the reports of AFP, DPA and PAP agencies.
“Today, the prosecutor submitted a proposal to the court to take the suspect Zbigniew Z. into custody,” the prosecutor’s office said on the X network.
Allegations of corruption
From 2015 to 2023, Ziobro was the Minister of Justice in the government of the right-wing party Law and Justice (PiS). He is the initiator of a series of controversial judicial reforms that have sparked a dispute between Poland and the European Union.
The prosecutor’s office and the new government led by the former president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, accuse him of corruption and abuse of power. The charges relate to a total of 26 criminal offences, including suspicion of founding and membership of a criminal organization and the embezzlement of 150 million zlotys (over 35 million euros) from a special fund to support victims of crimes, which was allegedly used in part to illegally finance the purchase of controversial Israeli spy software Pegasus.
Threat of arrest and warrant
If convicted, Ziobra faces up to 25 years in prison. The former minister denies the allegations, calling them “false and fabricated” and talking about “the next phase of revenge” by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Prosecutor Przemyslaw Nowak told reporters that the request for a three-month detention was based on legitimate fears that the ex-minister would try to evade justice. If the court approves the prosecutor’s request, Nowak did not rule out that he will request the issuance of a European arrest warrant for Ziobra, who is currently in Hungary and has declared that he has no intention of returning to Poland.
Health concerns
Ziobro, who has undergone cancer treatment, has repeatedly expressed fears that detention could endanger his life. However, Nowak said that if there is a serious threat to his health or life, the prosecutor will immediately release him from custody.
In December 2024, Ziobra’s former deputy Marcin Romanowski, against whom similar charges were brought, fled to Hungary and received political asylum there. Many in Poland expect Ziobro to follow suit to avoid prosecution.
