By Alan Charlish
WARSAW, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Zbigniew Ziobro, a former Polish justice minister who has been granted asylum in Hungary, is no stranger to conflict, regularly unleashing tirades against the “losers” and “softies” who opposed his judicial reforms or approach to the European Union.
However, the tough-talking, gun-carrying nationalist has observed the latest battle in his turbulent career from afar, choosing not to return to Poland to face 26 charges that include abuse of power and leading a criminal group.
Ziobro, 55, says he is the victim of a witch hunt waged by the pro-EU government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has vowed to bring to justice members of the right-wing former Law and Justice (PiS) administration accused of wrongdoing.
The ex-minister, who denies any wrongdoing, has been preparing for a showdown ever since PiS lost power in 2023.
Then, in a fiery address to parliament, he taunted his opponents over a previous failed attempt to prosecute him for exceeding his authority during his first stint as justice minister in 2005-2007.
“I’m counting on you,” he cried, addressing the benches of Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO). “I hope you won’t turn out to be the same losers you were during the time of the State Tribunal!”
ALLEGED MISUSE OF FUNDS
Prosecutors say Ziobro and several of his deputies misused millions of zlotys from a fund intended for victims of crime.
They say the cash went towards purchasing Pegasus spyware that was used against political opponents or buying everything from fire engines to equipment for country housewives’ associations to curry favour with rural voters.
Ziobro does not deny that money from the fund went towards Pegasus, but says that this and all the other spending was in Poland’s national interests. He accuses the KO government of seeking revenge because he had investigated suspected corruption among Tusk’s associates.
“THE SHERIFF”
Ziobro studied law at the prestigious Jagiellonian University in his native Krakow. He joined PiS at its inception in 2001 and rose to prominence during an inquiry into bribery allegations involving the centre-left government of the time.
His no-nonsense approach to sittings of the commission formed in 2003 to investigate the allegations gained him the nickname “the sheriff”.
In 2006 the event that many political observers say had the biggest effect on him took place.
Ziobro’s father Jerzy died after a heart operation and his family blamed the doctors involved. Now Poland’s justice minister, he directly attacked surgeon Miroslaw Garlicki, telling reporters: “No one will ever again be deprived of life by this man.”
Garlicki sued Ziobro and the minister was forced by a court to issue a public apology.
Critics said Ziobro sought to influence the investigation into his father’s death and that his exasperation with judges who failed to pin responsibility on Garlicki fuelled his confrontational approach to a profession he said regarded itself as an “exceptional caste”.
JUDICIAL REFORMS
The judicial reforms he spearheaded when he returned as justice minister in 2015 were central to a conflict between Warsaw and Brussels over democratic standards that resulted in billions of euros in EU funds being withheld.
Critics said the changes politicised the process for appointing and disciplining judges.
Ziobro also combined the roles of prosecutor general and justice minister, a move critics said compromised prosecutors’ independence. PiS said the reforms removed communist influence in the judicial system and improved efficiency.
The clashes with the EU caused disputes within government, especially between Ziobro and then-Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who favoured a more conciliatory approach towards Brussels.
“In negotiations you can’t be… a softy, you have to be tough,” Ziobro said in 2020.
His decision to seek asylum in Hungary from the right-wing government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban - another long-term critic of the EU - prompted a senior minister in Tusk’s administration, Tomasz Siemoniak, to say Ziobro was fleeing Polish justice “like a coward”.
CANCER DIAGNOSIS
On the day the new parliament was sworn in in 2023, Ziobro was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer.
While a parliamentary commission in Warsaw examined his role in alleged wrongdoing relating to Pegasus spyware, Ziobro underwent multiple operations and chemotherapy in Belgium.
PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said putting a man in Ziobro’s condition in prison would be “equivalent to a death sentence”.
But Ziobro himself has remained typically combative.
“For using brutal and unlawful methods, members of Donald Tusk’s regime currently ruling Poland will face severe consequences,” he said in a post on X on Monday. “I will personally contribute to this fight.”
(Reporting by Alan CharlishEditing by Gareth Jones)
