Former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro admitted in an interview with TV Republika that he was supposed to return to Poland today but heard about a possible provocation. That is why he decided to stay in Budapest. The website Niezalezna.pl was the first to warn about the planned illegal arrest of the politician.
Today, the parliamentary Regulation, Deputies’ Affairs and Immunities Committee is to consider the prosecutor’s request for the Sejm to consent to bringing Ziobro to criminal responsibility, as well as to his detention and temporary arrest. The Sejm is expected to review the committee’s report on the prosecutor’s request on Thursday at 11:30 p.m., while the decision on Ziobro’s immunity is to be made on Friday evening, during the voting block.
Ziobro held a press conference broadcast by TV Republika. It was announced as a live transmission from Budapest. After the press conference, there was a short interview for the channel. When asked, “Will you appear in Poland, will you come to Poland?” by a TV Republika reporter, Ziobro replied, “I will provide all the information in due time. Donald Tusk would like to know my plans, but I do not intend to fit into his scenario or assist his criminal gang. He can be certain of one thing – I will fight for the truth and will not allow myself to be silenced through criminal actions.”
“I had bought a ticket and was going to return to Poland. However, I received information that another provocation was being criminally organized to have me detained under the pretext of being caught in the act or shortly afterward, based on some false testimony. Under normal circumstances, I would have ignored such information, but we live in Tusk’s state – a man who said he would apply the law as he understands it, not as it is written in the statutes. And he truly does so,” said the former minister. Ziobro also emphasized that the current Minister Żurek is, as he put it, “an honest fellow,” because he said he wanted to have trusted judges in the courts.
According to Ziobro, he is not hiding behind his health condition. “I don’t think they are worried about my health. I remember how they mocked and ridiculed my illness,” he said, adding that political activity is also a time of trials. He also revealed that he did not expect Prime Minister Donald Tusk to act in such a way. “I hadn’t considered that he would decide to so blatantly break the law and commit crimes,” he stated.
On November 4, Niezalezna.pl reported:
The prosecutor’s office decided that former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro would be detained immediately after crossing the border and kept in custody by the services until Friday’s Sejm vote on his immunity. The team of Waldemar Żurek plans to justify this flagrant violation of the law by claiming a state of “higher necessity” and a fear of escape.