Zbigniew Ziobro granted asylum in Hungary

A former Polish justice minister who faces prosecution in his homeland over alleged abuse of power said Monday that he has been granted asylum in Hungary. Zbigniew Ziobro was a key figure in the government led by the nationalist conservative Law and Justice party, which ran Poland between 2015 and 2023.

That administration established political control over key judicial institutions by stacking higher courts with friendly judges, and punishing its critics with disciplinary action or assignments to faraway locations. Current Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government came to power more than two years ago with ambitions to roll back the changes, but efforts to undo them have been blocked by two successive presidents aligned with the national right.

In October, prosecutors requested the lifting of Ziobro’s parliamentary immunity to press charges against him. They allege, among other things, that Ziobro misused a fund for victims of violence, including for the purchase of Israeli Pegasus surveillance software. Tusk’s party says PiS used Pegasus to spy illegally on political opponents while in power. Ziobro says he acted lawfully.