FLASH
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Polish lawmakers voted to strip former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro of his parliamentary immunity and green-lighted his arrest on Friday evening, marking an escalation in the political power struggle between the coalition government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Tusk promised voters that he would bring to justice all those suspected of corruption.
Ziobro, who was justice minister in two PiS administrations, is a key figure in an investigation aimed at uncovering why and how the PiS government allegedly bought the Pegasus spyware program to spy on political opponents.
The purchase of spyware is part of a wider scandal, the Tusk government claims, involving the alleged misuse of the so-called Justice Fund, a special fund of money under the control of the justice minister that was created to help victims of crime.
Prosecutors specifically accuse Ziobro of leading an “organized crime group” at the Justice Ministry that embezzled about 150 million zlotys (35 million euros) from the Justice Fund. Other charges include lack of oversight and misuse of documents.
If convicted, Ziobro could face up to 25 years in prison.
The parliamentary action on Friday was actually a series of 27 separate votes, one vote for each of the 26 charges brought against Ziobro by prosecutors, plus a final vote on detention and arrest. The Tusk-led coalition prevailed each time, with the final vote coming 244-198 against Ziobro, with no abstentions.
The final decision on Ziobro's arrest rests with the court.
"Let the law always mean law and justice mean justice," Tusk said on social media after the vote, referring to the name of the opposition party.
Ziobro, who has been in Budapest since late October, denies all charges. The former minister accused Tusk of acting to prevent corruption charges against him.
Tusk "knows that we were conducting, under my supervision, investigations into suspicions of corruption in which he may have been involved," Ziobro told broadcaster TV Republika after parliament's action.
PiS has stood firmly behind its former minister, attacking the government for political revenge against the minister and accusing the administration of a lack of ethics in pursuing Ziobro, who is undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer.
"The prosecution was taken over by force and has been acting illegally ever since. I believe it may take some time, but all those involved will face justice - and today's developments will certainly increase their sentences," PiS President Jarosław Kaczyński told reporters in parliament, according to Onet.
Ziobro has been monitoring events in Budapest, where he has found safe haven along with another former Justice Ministry official, Marcin Romanowski, who was granted political asylum by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's administration. Ziobro also met with Orban last week.
Before the vote, Ziobro hinted that he would not apply for asylum and that he plans to return to Poland.
"Since this issue came to light while I was here, I decided to stay a little longer, but I will not extend my visit indefinitely. I will inform you of my future decisions in due course," Ziobro said.
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