Hungary's decision to grant asylum to the erstwhile Polish Minister of Justice is grotesque, writes “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
Zbigniew Ziobro. Photo: facebook.com/ZiobroPL
As reported on Tuesday, January 13, Frenchfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), The European Union sees itself as a community of democracy. "This means that political persecution cannot take place in any of its associate States. The thought of a erstwhile EU Minister receiving political asylum in another EU country should so be unthinkable,” we read.
Hungary's granting of asylum to erstwhile Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobrze commentator “FAZ” Reinhard Veser calls “farce” and adds that it was Ziobro who “disposed the Polish judiciary of independence”.
Ziobro can number on a fair trial
The diary recalls that the erstwhile minister is actually facing a long prison sentence, and the charges include large-scale “defraud” and illegal acquisition of software that was utilized to spy on the opposition.
"When Ziobro is now complaining about the deficiency of independency of the judiciary in Poland, it sounds grotesque. After all, he, during the regulation of the Law and Justice, led the transformation of the Polish judiciary into a political tool of the ruling class," writes the journalist. However, as Veser notes, Ziobro can number on a fair trial, unlike his erstwhile opponents.
According to the commentator, “Hungarian benefactors” connect not only ideology and authoritarian tendencies, but besides instrumental knowing of the law. "And there are many in Viktor Orbán's environment who, after losing their power, must fear the difficulties associated with the depoliticised judiciary," says the writer "FAZ".
Exceptional situation
In turn, as DPA writes, in Warsaw it was expected that Zbigniew Ziobro would receive protection in Hungary, especially after Budapest already granted asylum to his deputy, Marcin Romanowski, in 2024.
The DPA stresses that the situation where an EU associate State grants asylum to a individual from another EU country is ‘exceptional’. "Former president of the Catalan Government, Carles Puigdemont, fled to Belgium to avoid Spanish justice, but did not search asylum at the time," DPA reports.