Hungary Offers Asylum to Polish Ex-Justice Minister Facing Charges

Fri Feb 20 2026 00:49:05 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Zbigniew Ziobro, former Polish Justice Minister, claims asylum in Hungary amid allegations of embezzlement and political persecution.

Hungary has granted asylum to Zbigniew Ziobro, Poland's former Justice Minister, who is facing serious charges related to embezzling funds intended for crime victims. Ziobro asserts that he is a victim of political persecution, linking his situation to broader tensions within the EU regarding political accountability. His asylum request follows a pattern of similar cases, and comes as he seeks to combat what he calls a 'creeping dictatorship' in Poland. Both he and his deputy have been implicated in corruption, raising questions about the connections between their government and Hungary's current leadership under Viktor Orban.

Hungary has granted political asylum to Poland's former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro who is facing charges of embezzlement.

Ziobro is facing 26 charges related to embezzling money from a fund meant to be spent on crime victims and rehabilitating criminals.

Instead, he is accused of authorising the purchase of spyware that was allegedly used to hack political opponents' phones. He says he is a victim of political persecution.

Granting asylum to a citizen of a fellow EU member state goes against the spirit of EU standards.

But in the case of Hungary it is neither new nor surprising.

Ziobro is the second politician of the former Justice and Law-led government to be granted this status - last year it was his former deputy Michal Romanowski who fled to Budapest to seek protection.

Both are accused of corruption and misusing their power - most notably by using the money of the state-controlled Foundation for Justice which was under their oversight to fund their party and its cronies.

Ziobro served as justice minister between 2015 and 2023 under the previous right-wing PiS-led government, which is politically aligned with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

If found guilty, he could face up to 25 years in prison.

Writing on X, Ziobro stated: I have decided to accept the asylum granted to me by the government of Hungary due to the political persecution in Poland.

I have chosen to fight against political banditry and lawlessness. I stand in opposition to a creeping dictatorship, he added, accusing Prime Minister Donald Tusk of waging a vendetta against him.

Ziobro is accused of authorising a 25m zloty ($7m) purchase of Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, which Poland's current coalition government found was used to hack the phones of political opponents.

Current Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski reported his phone was hacked and Tusk said similar actions occurred with his wife and daughter's phones.

Ziobro is also accused of improperly awarding Justice Fund grants to bolster governmental support.

During his time as minister, Ziobro instigated judiciary reforms that led to significant conflicts with Brussels, resulting in frozen EU funds and rulings against Poland for violations of judicial independence.

Orban, facing parallel criticisms, and the PiS party have dismissed these rulings as violations of Poland's sovereignty.

Ziobro represents not just a political ally for Orban but a symbol in the fight against what they both view as EU overreach. This asylum request fits into Orban's goal of positioning himself as a leader of a European patriotic movement.