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Polish ex‑minister Zbigniew Ziobro flees Hungary for the US

newsMay 11, 202622311

Zbigniew Ziobro, Poland's former justice minister, left Hungary and reached the United States after Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said Hungary would not shield people wanted abroad. Poland accuses Ziobro of leading an organised criminal enterprise, abuse of power, and using funds meant for crime victims to buy Israeli Pegasus spyware; Ziobro denies the charges. Ziobro faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, and his departure came after Magyar's statement undercut any expectation of protection in Hungary. The case matters because it complicates Poland's effort to prosecute a senior former official and marks a shift in Hungary's willingness to harbor politically exposed allies.

Notes from Poland
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Former Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who was granted asylum in Hungary by Viktor Orbán's government, has been spotted at a US airport. It comes a day after new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who has pledged to extradite Ziobro to Poland, took office.

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