Zbigniew Ziobro, Poland's former justice minister who faces up to 25 years imprisonment on charges including leading a criminal group, has entered the United States despite having his Polish passport invalidated—prompting Warsaw to demand answers from Washington in what threatens to become a genuine diplomatic incident between NATO allies.
The case, reported by Notes from Poland, centers on how Ziobro gained entry using what his lawyer describes as a "Geneva passport"—a travel document granted to individuals with refugee status—after fleeing Hungary when newly elected Prime Minister Péter Magyar pledged to extradite him back to Poland.
Poland's National Prosecutor's Office sent a formal letter to US Ambassador Thomas Rose requesting clarification on whether Ziobro and former deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski are in the country, when they crossed the border, with which documents, and whether they claimed refugee or asylum status. The State Department declined to provide specifics, citing "the confidential nature of visa information."
A Warning Ignored?
More significantly, Poland's Foreign Ministry had sent a diplomatic note—an aide-mémoire—to the US State Department on April 15, weeks before Ziobro's arrival, warning that any assistance to the fugitive ex-minister would constitute "undue political interference" in Poland's justice system.
Maciej Wewior, spokesman for Poland's foreign ministry, confirmed the earlier warning. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski posted tersely on social media platform X that Warsaw had "given notice" to the United States.
In Poland, as across Central Europe, history is never far from the surface—and neither is the memory of occupation. The case touches on deeply held Polish concerns about sovereignty and the rule of law, particularly given the country's journey from communist control through democratic transition.
