Former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro has created a diplomatic incident by fleeing to the other side of the globe. Wanted by the justice system in his country, Ziobro confirmed on Sunday that he is now in the United States.
“I am in the United States,” he told the conservative Polish television channel Republika, one of the media outlets that first revealed his presence in the United States. In recent months, he had taken refuge in Hungary, but the defeat of Viktor Orbán in last month’s elections forced him to flee.
“I arrived in the United States yesterday, and this is the third time I have traveled to the country,” he added. The TVN24 news channel published a photo of the former Justice Minister at Newark airport, near New York. Ziobro faces up to 25 years in prison for allegedly misappropriating funds intended for crime victims to acquire the spy software Pegasus, reportedly to monitor political opponents.
As Minister of Justice and Attorney General in the Law and Justice Party (PiS, nationalist) governments between 2015 and 2023, he denies the accusations against him, accusing the current centrist government of conducting a witch hunt against conservatives.
In January 2026, Ziobro announced that he and his wife had been granted “asylum” in Hungary. But following his victory in April, the new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who took office on Saturday, pledged not to offer refuge to individuals sought by international justice.
“Hungary will no longer be a dumping ground for internationally wanted criminals,” Magyar said, mentioning Ziobro and one of his deputies, Marcin Romanowski, who is suspected of embezzling nearly 40 million euros. The latter was granted political asylum in Hungary in 2024.
Poland “will contact the United States and Hungary to seek clarification on the legal basis that allowed Zbigniew Ziobro to enter the United States without valid documents,” wrote Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek.
Poland had previously indicated that Ziobro’s travel documents, including his Polish and diplomatic passports, had been revoked. “We will not stop our efforts until he and Mr. Marcin Romanowski answer for their actions before the Polish justice system,” Zurek reiterated. He also stated on Polsat news that “if Ziobro’s presence in the United States is confirmed, then (Poland) will request his extradition.”
Zbigniew Ziobro is the architect of a series of controversial judicial reforms that have sparked a confrontation between Poland and the European Commission, which believes they undermine the rule of law and the balance of powers.
When asked by Republika about a possible extradition, Ziobro responded, “I am ready to appear before any court, and an American court is certainly an independent court.” “If they want to initiate an extradition procedure, let them do it,” he added, describing extradition cases before American courts as a “demanding process.”
