Hungary revokes refugee status of former Polish justice min, his deputy
Hungary has revoked the refugee status of Polish former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, his wife Patrycja Kotecka-Ziobro and former deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Thursday.
"I have received written confirmation of Hungary's decision to cancel their refugee status," Sikorski wrote on X, adding that the Hungarian authorities had also invalidated their refugee travel documents.
"The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine," he added.
Ziobro, a socially conservative Law and Justice (PiS) MP and former justice minister, faces multiple criminal charges in Poland linked to the alleged misuse of the Justice Fund, a state fund intended to support victims of crime. Prosecutors accuse him of leading an organised criminal group and abusing his office for political and personal gain. In total, he faces 26 charges.
Ziobro announced in early May that was in the US, insisting he had not fled Poland but had travelled using the refugee travel document issued by Hungary after he was granted international protection.
Before leaving for the United States, Ziobro had been staying in Hungary. His departure came after the election of Peter Magyar's government, which pledged to extradite him to Poland.
On Wednesday, a Warsaw regional court upheld an earlier decision regarding Ziobro's temporary arrest.
Romanowski, who served as Ziobro's deputy, is also under investigation over the alleged misuse of the Justice Fund and faces charges related to large-scale financial irregularities. Polish authorities are seeking his extradition under a second European Arrest Warrant (EAW).
Romanowski fled to Hungary in late 2024, where the government of Viktor Orbán granted him asylum, triggering a diplomatic dispute between Warsaw and Budapest.
While Ziobro has since left Hungary for the US, Romanowski vacated his apartment in Budapest at the end of April. According to Polish media reports, he has since travelled through the Balkans and was recently spotted in Serbia and Croatia.(PAP)
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