Hungary grants rare political asylum to fugitive Polish PiS lawmaker

The Hungarian government on Thursday granted political asylum to former Polish justice minister and current PiS lawmaker Marcin Romanowski, who is wanted in Poland for alleged corruption during his time as minister in the previous PiS government. 

Authorities in Poland have been looking for Romanowski since last week, after a Polish court approved a request for the lawmaker to be put in pre-trial detention. After a fruitless search, prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant for Romanowski citing evidence that he was abroad. 

Hours before Romanowski's lawyer announced the lawmaker had been granted asylum in Hungary, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned against Budapest taking any "odd decisions".

"Should Budapest take any odd decisions that would be inconsistent with the European law, such as granting political asylum or ignoring the European Arrest Warrant, Viktor Orbán would be the one in a precarious position, not I," Tusk said.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said he views Budapest's decision as a "hostile act" in a post on X. 

Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán largely sidestepped questions about the move as he left a European Council summit on Thursday, telling journalists there was an ongoing "legal process."

Romanowski was deputy justice minister from 2019 to 2023 under the former nationalist, conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS). 

Prosecutors claim he committed 11 crimes in his role overseeing the so-called Justice Fund, a reserve of money dedicated to helping victims of crime. He is accused of being part of an organized criminal group awarding contracts financed by the fund to selected bidders who fell short of the requirements — ultimately defrauding the Polish state of over €107 million. 

Romanowski’s lawyer, Bartosz Lewandowski, claims his case is "politically motivated" as it was brought by public prosecutors under Tusk's government, whose Civic Platform party beat PiS in the 2023 elections. 

“Marcin Romanowski indicated that he cannot count on a fair trial in Poland due to the political involvement of some judges,” Lewandowski said. He added that his client would be willing to face charges if they were brought “once the standards of the rule of law are restored in Poland.”

It is rare that another European country would agree to grant asylum to a fugitive wanted under a European Arrest Warrant. 

Spokesperson for the Polish prosecutor's office, Anna Adamiak, admitted that the case was "unprecedented" and not envisioned when drawing up regulations. 

She added that even if Romanowski is granted international protection in Hungary, “it cannot prevent Hungary from carrying out the procedure related to this European Arrest Warrant.”

Romanowski is not the only PiS politician who is sought by prosecutors for crimes during his time in office. 

Prosecutors are seeking to bring charges against a number of ministers including former Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk for allegedly handing out thousands of work visas to Poland in exchange for cash in a scandal that tarnished the anti-immigration party's reputation in the run-up to general elections. 

PiS have argued that the new government is using the justice system to unfairly attack the opposition.