Ziobro’s lawyer files appeal against arrest warrant, claiming Tomasz M.’s explanations can be easily disproven.
Lawyer Files Appeal
Zbigniew Ziobro’s lawyer, Bartosz Lewandowski, announced on Thursday (February 12) that he had filed an appeal with the Warsaw-Mokotów District Court against the decision on his client’s temporary arrest. In light of the collected material, the charges are not even largely substantiated, and therefore there is no possibility of ordering any preventive measures. The court did not take into account clear evidence of the minister’s complete innocence, and Tomasz M.’s explanations can be very easily refuted by referring to unquestioned, objective evidence, wrote Lewandowski.
The lawyer also requested that the execution of the decision be suspended by the Regional Court in Warsaw until it becomes final.
Who is Tomasz M.?
Tomasz M. was the director of the Justice Fund Department in the Ministry of Justice from 2020-2022. According to PAP reports, during a parliamentary meeting of the PiS accountability team, he informed about irregularities in the way most competitions in the FS were conducted. In his view, the main decision-maker in this matter was then Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro.
Extensive explanations by Tomasz M. formed the basis for presenting charges to five people in connection with “rigging a competition” and conducting searches. Recall that at the end of last March, authorities searched Ziobro’s homes as well as the home and hotel room of former Deputy Minister of Justice Michał Wosi from PiS.
Ziobro Was to Be Arrested. He Left
Zbigniew Ziobro is suspected of committing 26 crimes related to irregularities in the Justice Fund. The Sejm lifted the deputy’s immunity and agreed to his detention and temporary arrest. The reason was the investigators’ fear that he would not show up for the planned activities, would hide, escape, or would obstruct justice. The basis for applying this preventive measure was also the severe penalty facing the politician, up to 25 years in prison.
Ziobro, however, left and obtained political asylum and international protection in Hungary. His lawyer informed on January 12 that the reason was a series of actions that showed signs of politically motivated repression.
