Information about the granting of global protection to Zbigniew Ziobrze was provided by his defender Bartosz Lewandowski on platform X. The communication shows that the erstwhile head of the Ministry of Justice has political exile position in Hungary, and that the Hungarian authorities are to defend him from the consequences of cases that are against him in Poland. This means that any requests for extradition will come to politically peculiarly delicate ground.
In the autumn of 2025 Viktor Orbán openly said that Hungary was ready to grant asylum to "persecuted" Polish politicians, although the names were not disclosed at the time. Now that Ziobry's lawyer announces the granting of security, it is clear that this signal was not just an interior rhetoric, but an component of a wider game with Warsaw and Brussels.
Another axis of dispute with the Polish government
Budapest's decision strikes the efforts of the current authorities to settle the irregularities. Asylum for Ziobra creates a safe haven for him beyond the scope of the Polish prosecutor's office, while strengthening Orbán's political alliance with the erstwhile ruling squad in Warsaw. 1 can anticipate that the dispute over the destiny of the erstwhile minister will rapidly turn into another front of the conflict between Poland and Hungary within the European Union.
Ziorbro's not the first. Romanowski paved the escape way to Budapest
The case of Zbigniew Ziobry fits the script well known for Marcin Romanowski's earlier asylum. In 2024, the erstwhile Deputy Minister of Justice besides received Hungarian protection, despite allegations of fraud of public funds. In the justification of the decision, a study from the ultraconservative think tank associated with Viktor Orbán's camp appeared – the same 1 who later offered Romanowski the position.
For the authorities in Budapest, this is another chance to competition EU legal standards by presenting the pursued PiS politicians as victims of political retaliation. Meanwhile, in Poland, the prosecution examines whether Hungarian citizens helped Romanowski avoid responsibility.
