Zbigniew Ziobro, Poland’s former justice minister and prosecutor general, has left Hungary and travelled to the United States, opening a new chapter in one of the most politically charged legal battles in post-2023 Poland. Ziobro confirmed his presence in the U.S. after Polish media reported that he had been photographed at Newark Airport. Polish authorities are now demanding explanations from both Hungary and the United States about how he was able to travel despite having his Polish travel documents invalidated.
For foreign readers, Ziobro is not just another former cabinet minister. He was one of the most powerful figures in the national-conservative Law and Justice government, which ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023. As justice minister and prosecutor general, he played a central role in reshaping Poland’s judiciary — changes that brought Warsaw into years of conflict with the European Union over the rule of law and judicial independence.
Ziobro is wanted in Poland in connection with alleged abuses involving the Justice Fund, a state fund originally intended to support victims of crime. Polish prosecutors want to pursue 26 charges against him, including abuse of power and accusations linked to the misuse of public money. One of the most sensitive elements of the case concerns allegations that money from the fund was used to purchase Pegasus spyware, which was reportedly deployed against political opponents and critics. Ziobro denies wrongdoing and argues that the proceedings are politically motivated.
Until now, Ziobro had been staying in Hungary, where he received political asylum under the government of Viktor Orbán, a long-time ally of Poland’s former ruling camp. That protection became uncertain after Orbán lost power and Péter Magyar, a pro-European conservative, became Hungary’s new prime minister. Magyar had signalled that Hungary would no longer serve as a safe haven for foreign politicians wanted by prosecutors in other countries. Ziobro’s sudden departure to the U.S. therefore appears to have come at a politically decisive moment.
The move has created a diplomatic problem for Warsaw. Polish officials had hoped that the change of government in Budapest would make it easier to bring Ziobro back to Poland. Instead, his arrival in the United States means that any attempt to secure his return may now require a formal extradition process. Poland and the U.S. do have an extradition treaty, but such procedures can be lengthy and legally complex, especially when the person sought argues that the charges are politically motivated.
The case also has symbolic significance. For Donald Tusk’s government, which came to power promising to restore the rule of law and investigate abuses under Law and Justice, Ziobro is a central figure in the broader effort to hold former officials accountable. For the Polish right, however, the case is presented as evidence of political revenge by the new authorities. This clash of narratives makes the legal proceedings inseparable from Poland’s ongoing political struggle over the legacy of the PiS years.
Ziobro’s departure from Hungary to the United States therefore matters far beyond his personal legal situation. It touches on Poland’s domestic reckoning after eight years of Law and Justice rule, the future of Polish-Hungarian relations after Orbán, and the willingness of the United States to cooperate with a close NATO ally in a politically sensitive extradition case.
