Poland Reissues Arrest Warrant for Lawmaker Sheltered in Hungary
Romanowski, affiliated with the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, faces accusations of committing 19 criminal offenses while serving as deputy justice minister from 2019 to 2023 under former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro.
Authorities claim that Romanowski participated in an “organized criminal group” that misappropriated approximately €35.4 million ($39.4 million) from Poland’s Justice Fund, a state program designed to support victims of crime. Investigators say the money was instead funneled into projects benefiting political allies of Ziobro and allegedly used to purchase Pegasus spyware, which was later deployed to monitor political opponents of the previous PiS-led administration.
The renewed arrest warrant follows weeks of legal maneuvering in Warsaw. A prior EAW issued in 2024 was revoked in December by a judge, who cited Hungary’s political asylum decision as a reason to block extradition. The judge also raised “serious concerns” that Poland’s current political system amounted to a “crypto-dictatorship,” a statement that triggered backlash and was rejected by the government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, according to reports.
The case has become part of a wider debate over judicial independence in Poland. Critics of PiS contend that during its eight-year tenure, the party politicized the courts by advancing loyalist judges and weakening checks on executive power.
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