Szijjártó says several people who would be persecuted in Poland have been granted asylum

The Hungarian authorities have granted asylum to several individuals who would be subject to political persecution in Poland, said Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, according to MTI, the Hungarian State News Agency. The foreign minister did not mention any specific names, "in view of the persecuted status of those concerned."

According to the ministry's statement, democracy and the rule of law are in crisis and under threat in Poland.

The background to the case is that what had previously only been media speculation was confirmed on Monday: Poland's former justice minister and his wife have been granted asylum by the Hungarian government.

As we reported a few days ago, Poland had summoned the Hungarian ambassador after Hungary granted asylum to two Polish citizens. It was already understood at that time that the case was likely related to Ziobro, the former Polish justice minister and his wife, but these were only press reports. The former minister is suspected of founding and leading a criminal organization in his home country.

"There are many people subject to political persecution, and of course here in Hungary, if someone seeks asylum due to political persecution, we give it careful consideration and assess such applications in accordance with existing Hungarian and European Union legislation, Szijjártó said.

Zbigniew Ziobro's diplomatic passport was revoked last November. The former minister is suspected of having organized and led a criminal group while serving as justice minister during the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government. The organization is suspected of having embezzled more than 150 million zlotys (13.8 billion forints). According to the allegations, Ziobro may have taken money from the Justice Fund, which was created to assist victims and prevent crime. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison.

At the end of October last year, the former Polish minister spoke at a conference in Budapest, alongside Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office, and then posed for a photo with Viktor Orbán. According to Orbán, the Brussels-friendly Polish government has launched a political witch hunt against the Polish right wing, and the case against Ziobro is part of this.

We previously contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government Information Center about the matter. The ministry sent the following response to Telex:

“The rule of law is in crisis in Poland, and many are facing politically motivated persecution. In Hungary, those suffering political persecution are granted refugee status in accordance with European Union law.”

Previously, Marcin Romanowski, former Polish Deputy Justice Minister, wanted at home on corruption charges, was also granted political asylum in Hungary, which took the relationship between Hungary and Poland from bad to worse.