UPDATE: Polish court delays hearing on arrest of former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro
The session of the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów began in the morning and is set to decide whether Ziobro will be detained for the next three months.
If the request is granted, according to the prosecution’s announcement, a warrant will be issued for Ziobro. Should he be outside the country, the next step would be to initiate searches under a European Arrest Warrant.
The politician is suspected of 26 offences, including financial abuses connected to the Justice Fund and the embezzlement of multi-million-euro grants intended to aid crime victims.
Ziobro is alleged to have instructed his subordinates to break the law in order to ensure that selected entities received Justice Fund grants, interfered with the preparation of competition offers, allowed funds to be awarded to ineligible entities, and concealed documents relevant to criminal proceedings.
He is also accused of ordering the illegal transfer of 25 million PLN (approx. €5,940,625) from the Justice Fund to the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) for the purchase of Pegasus spyware used against political opponents and journalists, as well as 14 million PLN (approx. €3,326,750) for the renovation of the National Prosecutor’s Office, despite lacking legal justification.
Prosecutor Piotr Woźniak, leading the Justice Fund investigation, told journalists that the legal criteria for temporary detention had been met, citing a high risk of flight, concealment, and tampering with evidence.
Ziobro’s lawyer, Bartosz Lewandowski, confirmed that his client’s current location is confidential and that the defence will fully exercise all legal options to represent him.
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Source: Polish Radio English Section/IAR/PAP