Tomasz Szmydt, a former Polish judge accused of espionage, has been granted political asylum in Belarus, as confirmed by Belarusian state media. This decision, signed by President Alexander Lukashenko, has drawn sharp criticism from Polish officials, who see it as part of a broader propaganda effort.
Szmydt fled to Belarus amid accusations by the Polish Prosecutor’s Office, which charged him in absentia and issued a European Arrest Warrant. He resigned from his judicial post remotely while seeking refuge across the border.
Stanisław Żaryn, advisor to Polish President Andrzej Duda, condemned the asylum decision on social media, calling Szmydt a “traitor” and accusing Belarus of weaponizing his case as part of its hybrid warfare against Poland and the West. Drawing parallels to the case of Emil Czeczko—a Polish soldier who defected to Belarus in 2021 and later died under mysterious circumstances—Żaryn warned that Szmydt might face a similar fate once deemed expendable.
Czeczko, who defected citing alleged human rights abuses in Poland, became a tool of Belarusian and Russian propaganda before his death in Minsk in 2022, reportedly by suicide.