Polish ex-justice minister stripped of parliamentary immunity
The Sejm on Friday evening waived the parliamentary immunity of former Justice Minister and Law and Justice (PiS) MP Zbigniew Ziobro, following a request by prosecutors who say he faces 26 criminal charges, including leading an organised criminal group.
The lower house also gave its consent to Ziobro's detention and temporary arrest in connection with the ongoing investigation regarding the misuse of the justice ministry's Justice Fund, a special reserve designed to assist victims of crime, during his tenure as justice minister.
In 26 separate votes corresponding to the individual charges, between 248 and 261 MPs voted in favour of lifting Ziobro's immunity, while between 184 and 197 voted against, with around a dozen abstentions in each vote.
In another separate vote, 244 MPs supported allowing Ziobro's detention and temporary arrest, 198 voted against, and there were no abstentions.
Ziobro, who served as justice minister from 2015 to 2023, faces 26 accusations, including "founding and leading an organised criminal group" that allegedly defrauded PLN 150 million (EUR 35.23 mln) from the Justice Fund. Prosecutors say the money was misused, in part, to purchase the Pegasus spyware system.
A key architect of Poland's controversial judicial reforms, Ziobro spearheaded policies that sparked years of conflict with the European Union over the rule of law and judicial independence.
According to right-wing television stations TV Republika and wPolsce24, Ziobro held a press conference in Budapest on Thursday, the same day the Sejm's regulations committee backed the motion to strip him of immunity.
He told reporters that the charges prosecutors brought against him were "false, untrue and totally absurd."
His former deputy, Marcin Romanowski, accused of being a member of the same criminal group, has already fled to Budapest, where he reportedly obtained political asylum despite a European Arrest Warrant issued for him.
Asked on Thursday whether he planned to return to Poland, Ziobro said he would provide all relevant information "in due time."
The nationalist government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a close ally of Poland's former ruling PiS party, although they differ strongly in their approach to the war in Ukraine.
Ziobro has previously used illness as a reason for avoiding testimony. He ignored eight summonses to appear before a parliamentary investigative commission and was ultimately compelled to do so following a court order based on an independent medical opinion.
A special investigative team within the National Prosecutor's Office, established in February 2024, has been examining allegations of irregularities and rigged competitions for multi-million-zloty grants distributed from the fund under the PiS government. The alleged offences also include falsification of documents.
According to prosecutors, the criminal group purportedly formed by Ziobro included senior justice ministry officials, individuals holding public positions within the ministry and representatives of organisations that benefited financially from the fund. (PAP)
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