According to the incomplete results, the Republican Party was defeated in Tuesday's midterm elections to Congress, losing its majority in both chambers to the Democratic Party. Democrats took over at least six Senate seats previously held by Republicans, securing a majority in the Senate and winning even in a Republican stronghold like Texas.
During Wednesday's press conference, the head of the Ministry of Justice, Waldemar Żurek, was asked whether the results of the US elections could affect the extradition proceedings against Zbigniew Ziobro.
Minister Żurek recalled that after Peter Magyar's victory in the Hungarian elections, he publicly commented that Ziobro's presence in a given country, "supporting the government that is currently in power, brings bad luck."
Referring to the extradition of the PiS politician from the USA, Żurek replied: There is no doubt in my mind that Ziobro would not have been able to enter the United States legally if there was no protective, political umbrella - said the head of the Ministry of Justice.
The request for the arrest and extradition of former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro reached the USA a few months ago.
I hope that now, when Americans stop worrying about elections, because they have focused only on this in recent weeks, we will be able to inform the public opinion in the United States more that they are providing shelter to a person who is suspected of criminal offenses and embezzlement of public funds - said Żurek.
The head of the Ministry of Justice expressed hope that "the administration after these elections will be more willing to cooperate with the Polish justice system."
We know well that this procedure is structured in such a way that at the beginning the court decides, but ultimately a political decision is made and it must be signed by the person who holds a political position. So I will appeal for there to be no such cover and no such protective umbrella. We'll see how it will be in practice. It's hard to say, said the Minister of Justice.
Zbigniew Ziobro faces charges in an investigation into irregularities in the Justice Fund. The district court consented to the arrest of the former minister in February this year. This decision became final in July. An arrest warrant was also issued for Ziobro.
On May 10, after Victor Orban lost the elections in Hungary, Ziobro announced that he was staying in the USA. He stated that he had not escaped from Poland and was using the document granted to him along with the right to asylum, which he received in Hungary. Already then, the current head of the Ministry of Justice, Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek, announced a request for extradition.
On July 14, the head of the Ministry of Justice informed the American side that Ziobro was facing 26 criminal charges.
At the end of August, the Americans received a request for Ziobro's arrest and extradition.
Pursuant to the agreement between Poland and the USA on extradition, the request for extradition of a wanted person, together with additional documents, is submitted through diplomatic channels. As we read in the agreement, the crime constituting the basis for extraditing the person being prosecuted is one which, according to the law in force in both countries, is punishable by a maximum penalty of deprivation of liberty of more than one year or a more severe penalty.
