Hungary granted asylum to Polish politician Marcin Romanowski on Thursday to write Polish media. The former deputy minister of justice is suspected of, among other things, embezzling government money. For this reason, a European arrest warrant was issued against Romanowski earlier on Thursday. Budapest has confirmed that it has granted asylum, but has not yet provided further details.
Romanowski, who was deputy minister for the then ruling right-wing conservative PiS party between 2019 and 2023, is accused of, among other things, participation in a criminal organization and fraud. He siphoned off the equivalent of around 25 million euros from a fund for crime victims. In the same way, he allegedly tried to defraud another 58 million euros. Romanowski denies all allegations.
The politician became a politician last summer arrestedbut released a few days later because he enjoyed immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. With this immunity lifted last October, a Polish court this month ordered Romanowski to be rearrested. He has been wanted ever since.
Romanowski’s lawyer said Thursday that the Polish government and the Polish Public Prosecution Service are “violating the rights and freedoms” of his client. He also states that Romanowski cannot count on a fair trial in Poland due to “the political involvement of some judges” and calls the case politically motivated.
The PiS party ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023. The party is still the largest in the Eastern European country, but Prime Minister Donald Tusk forms the coalition with his Civic Coalition and a number of small parties. Tusk promised to investigate corruption under the previous government.