Hungary has granted asylum to Marcin Romanowski, a former Polish Deputy Minister of Justice accused of embezzling public funds. Earlier, a European arrest warrant was issued for him in Warsaw.
Romanowski, in office from 2019 to 2023, faces charges including participating in a criminal organization and fraud, allegedly siphoning millions of euros from a victim assistance fund. He denies all allegations.
A member of the right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS), he was detained this summer but released due to immunity from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. This immunity has been revoked, leading to a new arrest order.
His lawyer claims the Polish government and prosecution violated his rights, arguing the case is politically motivated. Romanowski sought asylum to highlight political repression of opposition parties in Poland.
The PiS lost its parliamentary majority in 2023, with Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition now in power, promising to tackle corruption. Tusk warned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán against granting asylum, suggesting it would place Orbán in a difficult position if European law is violated.
Orbán previously had strong ties with PiS, but relations have cooled since Tusk’s ascent to power.
Source: NOS