Poland's fugitive former justice minister can't rest easy in the US

Source: Politico (EU)

May 23, 2026 1:35 pm CET


PRAGUE — Poland is examining whether former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro broke the rules by fleeing to the U.S. despite facing charges back home over accusations of misusing public funds, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said at Saturday’s POLITICO Speakeasy at the GLOBSEC Forum.

Ziobro, who is still an MP and deputy chairman of Poland’s opposition Law and Justice party, “needs to face the charges,” Sikorski said. Ziobro had been in Hungary since 2025 after former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán granted the disgraced minister asylum. New Hungarian leader Péter Magyar, however, promised to launch extradition proceedings against Ziobro upon taking office.

Ziobro is wanted in Poland over the alleged misuse of public funds and the deployment of Pegasus spyware against political opponents. He has consistently denied the charges, calling the investigation a political vendetta from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He arrived in the U.S. earlier this month to work for right-wing Polish broadcaster TV Republika.

Reuters reported on Monday that U.S. Deputy Secretary ​of State Christopher Landau directed senior State Department officials to expedite a U.S. visa for Ziobro. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has close ties to the Law and Justice party. Sikorski said he has expressed Warsaw’s “displeasure” at Ziobro’s presence in the U.S. to American authorities.

Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/polands-fugitive-former-justice-minister-cant-rest-easy-in-the-us/