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2h ago

Poland Probes How Fugitive Ex-Justice Minister Ziobro Reached the U.S.

His flight follows Hungary’s power shift, which ended the asylum protection he had received.

Member of the Law and Justice (PiS) party and Poland's former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro is surrounded by members of the media after he was detained by police at the Polish TV Republika station's headquarters to be brought to testify before the Pegasus Investigation Committee, in Warsaw, Poland January 31, 2025. Agencja Wyborcza.pl/Dawid Zuchowicz/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. POLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN POLAND./File Photo
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Overview

  • Zbigniew Ziobro, wanted in Poland on multiple charges, confirmed Sunday in a TV Republika interview that he is in the United States, with TVN24 publishing a traveler’s photo of him at Newark Airport.
  • Citing Monday’s statements, Polish officials said they will ask the United States and Hungary what documents let Ziobro leave Hungary and enter the U.S., and they indicated they will seek extradition if his location is verified.
  • Prosecutors in Poland prepared 26 counts that include abuse of power, leading an organized group, and diverting Justice Fund money meant for crime victims, with some funds alleged to have supported Pegasus spyware purchases.
  • Ziobro had received asylum from Viktor Orbán’s government, then new Prime Minister Péter Magyar pledged to stop sheltering people wanted abroad and named Ziobro as an example.
  • Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported that his U.S. visa was personally approved by President Donald Trump, a claim that U.S. officials have not confirmed.