Poland's Sejm to vote on stripping former justice minister's immunity amid fraud claims

Poland's Sejm committee will consider waiving former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro's parliamentary immunity on Thursday over allegations he led an organised criminal group that misallocated over €35 million from the Justice Fund, including funds for the Pegasus spying system.

The National Prosecutor's Office wants to bring 26 charges against the Law and Justice politician, with the most serious alleging he headed a criminal group operating within his ministry that favoured entities related to Ziobro, according to a 158-page document sent to the parliament speaker.

Current Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek forwarded the motion requesting a waiver of immunity as well as detention and arrest in connection with abuses of the Justice Fund grant.

The Sejm's parliamentary affairs committee will examine the request on Thursday, with MPs voting on Friday on stripping Ziobro of immunity.

Polish outlet TVN24 reported that prosecutors allege the organised criminal group misappropriated Justice Fund finances, with over 150 million zloty (around €35 million) allegedly spent on purchasing the Pegasus surveillance system.

Available evidence includes official documents both public and previously unknown, memory sticks from Justice Ministry employees, Ziobro's meeting schedules, recordings of conversations between former officials, electronic correspondence, Supreme Audit Office findings, witness statements and suspect explanations.

Ziobro has rejected all allegations. He filed a complaint with prosecutors on Tuesday, claiming the immunity waiver motion was signed by an unauthorised person.

He alleged Żurek and Prosecutor Piotr Woźniak signed documents improperly, arguing "such an application is ineffective under the law and should not be considered."

The National Public Prosecutor's Office rejected Zbigniew Ziobro's allegations as unfounded.

Ziobro met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on 30 October, with Orbán publicly supporting the former Polish justice minister while slamming Warsaw's government over his alleged persecution and publishing a joint photograph.

"The Polish government is trying to arrest him. All this is happening in the heart of Europe and Brussels is silent. We live in absurd times," Orbán wrote on X.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded to the photograph: "Either under arrest or in Budapest."