Court Denies European Arrest Warrant Request for Zbigniew Ziobro

The Warsaw District Court has rejected a request for a European Arrest Warrant against former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, citing insufficient evidence that he is currently residing or traveling within the EU or the UK.

The Court’s Decision

On Monday, July 13, Judge Anna Ptaszek, spokesperson for the criminal division of the court, announced that the ruling is final and cannot be appealed. The court also denied a separate request for an arrest warrant that would have applied should Ziobro be located in the United Kingdom.

Judge Ptaszek explained that the prosecutor failed to demonstrate that Ziobro is currently present in the European Union or intends to travel there. Regarding the UK warrant, the court found the evidence similarly lacking. Ptaszek noted that, according to the prosecution’s own stance, Ziobro is currently in the United States.

Justice Fund Investigation

Zbigniew Ziobro faces formal allegations in an investigation concerning financial irregularities within the Justice Fund during the PiS administration. Prosecutors accuse the former minister of leading an organized criminal group and abusing his official position.

Investigators allege Ziobro committed 26 offenses, including ordering subordinates to bypass the law to secure grants for specific entities and interfering in the competitive bidding process for public funds. Ziobro maintains his innocence, claiming he is the victim of a political witch hunt.

Arrest Warrant and Asylum Status

An arrest warrant was issued for the former minister in February after a district court ordered his detention, leading to a wanted notice. At that time, Ziobro was in Hungary, where he had been granted international protection by the government of Viktor Orban.

Following the loss of power by the Orban government, Hungary revoked the refugee status of Ziobro, his wife, and former deputy minister Marcin Romanowski in early July. Their travel documents were subsequently invalidated. While a new judge, Tomasz Grochowicz, was assigned to the warrant case in June, the court ultimately maintained its refusal to issue the European Arrest Warrant.