Zbigniew Ziobro spent eight years reshaping Poland’s legal system. Now, speaking from political asylum in Hungary, the former justice minister says the same system is being turned against him, and that he can only fight it from abroad.

Ziobro, once one of the most powerful figures in Polish politics, ran the justice system under the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government from 2015 to 2023. He is now under investigation over the alleged misuse of public funds and the deployment of Pegasus spyware against political opponents — cases pursued by prosecutors under Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist government.

“My presence here isn’t an escape of any kind — it’s a form of fighting back,” Ziobro told POLITICO by telephone from Budapest, after Viktor Orbán’s government granted him asylum earlier this month. “Because here I can fight. There, I’d be stripped of any ability to do so.”

Prosecutors say investigations linked to Ziobro are part of an effort to unwind decisions taken during his tenure, when sweeping judicial reforms gave ministers broad influence over prosecutors and disciplinary control over judges. Those changes put Poland on a prolonged collision course with Brussels and were later condemned by EU courts.

Ziobro rejected those allegations and cast himself as a victim of political revenge.

“I wanted to reform Poland’s judiciary — and that was never accepted, including by the EU,” he said. “They had the right to criticize me politically. They did not have the right to falsely accuse me of theft.”

He accused prosecutors of using pre-trial detention as a political weapon against figures linked to his former ministry.

As an example, Ziobro pointed to the case of two of his former aides and that of Michał Olszewski, a Catholic priest accused of misusing funds from a justice ministry program for crime victims. Olszewski spent months in pre-trial detention, and Poland’s ombudsman later cited instances of improper treatment.

Hungary’s decision to grant Ziobro asylum has pushed the dispute beyond Poland’s borders, infuriating Warsaw and raising questions about the EU’s ability to enforce cooperation between member states. Poland’s justice minister, Waldemar Żurek, called the move a “dangerous precedent,” warning it could allow governments to shield political allies from accountability at home.

From exile, Ziobro has broadened his attack. He accused the European Commission and its president, Ursula von der Leyen, of hypocrisy for condemning alleged rule-of-law abuses under PiS while tolerating what he called “lawlessness” under the current government in Warsaw.

Polish officials reject that. Deputy Foreign Minister Ignacy Niemczycki on Monday pointed to assessments by international organizations showing that rule-of-law standards deteriorated under PiS and have improved since the change of government.

“Given Poland’s political situation, not everything we would like to do is possible,” Niemczycki said, responding to a question from POLITICO in Brussels. “But what happens in practice matters far more. And speaking frankly, if Ziobro has fled to Hungary, then what exactly are we debating?”

A divided reception at home

Ziobro’s safe haven in Budapest may not last.

Hungary is heading toward a parliamentary election in April, with pro-EU opposition challenger Péter Magyar leading in polls. Asked whether a change of government could jeopardize his asylum status, Ziobro brushed off the question and instead mounted a vigorous defense of Orbán.

“Hungarians will choose Orbán,” Ziobro said. “They know that in an unstable world, experience and the ability to protect the country’s security matter.”

He rejected claims that Orbán’s ties to Russia reflected an ideological sympathy. Instead, Ziobro argued that Hungary’s reliance on Russian gas left it little room to maneuver.

Back in Poland, Ziobro’s asylum has divided opinion.

Polls suggest a majority of PiS voters see Ziobro’s stay in Hungary as a liability for the party. President Karol Nawrocki, a PiS ally, has offered only a cautious backing, warning that not everyone in Poland can count on a fair trial.

Pro-PiS broadcaster Telewizja Republika has amplified Ziobro’s narrative of a witch-hunt, producing near-constant television coverage on police searches, detentions and court proceedings involving the former minister’s allies.

From Budapest, Ziobro said he is writing a book about what he called “Europe’s hypocrisy and Tusk’s dictatorship,” as Polish tabloids chronicle his new life strolling about the Hungarian capital.

He insisted his exile is temporary and said he plans to return to Polish politics, staging a comeback ahead of the 2027 parliamentary election.

“I am convinced Tusk’s government will fall,” he said. “It will end in failure and he will have to answer for what he has done.”