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Poland Accuses US of Meddling After Visa Granted to Zbigniew Ziobro
(MENAFN) Poland's top diplomat has launched a pointed accusation of political interference against Washington after the United States granted a visa to a former government minister currently facing serious criminal charges at home, opening a fresh diplomatic rift between two of NATO's closest allies.
In a Saturday interview with a news outlet, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Warsaw considered the visa decision a direct intrusion into Poland's internal legal affairs, adding that he had personally conveyed his government's displeasure to a senior US official.
According to Sikorski, former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro secured the travel document under a journalist visa obtained through misrepresentation, and had publicly signaled intentions to mobilize political support among the Polish diaspora on American soil.
Ziobro, who served as both justice minister and attorney general under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, was among the chief architects of Poland's sweeping judicial overhaul — reforms that triggered a prolonged confrontation with Brussels over rule-of-law violations.
Polish prosecutors have since filed 26 criminal charges against him, centered on the alleged misappropriation of funds from the Justice Fund, a state mechanism designed to assist crime victims that authorities contend was redirected for political ends. Separate investigations have also scrutinized procurement decisions linked to surveillance technology allegedly deployed against opposition figures and journalists. Ziobro denies all wrongdoing, maintaining the prosecution is politically driven.
For Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government — which came to power after the PiS era ended in 2023 — compelling Ziobro's appearance before a Polish court has emerged as a defining test of its pledge to restore institutional accountability.
The controversy deepened following reports that senior US officials intervened to expedite Ziobro's visa application.
Warsaw has so far sought to insulate its strategic partnership with Washington from the mounting political friction. Poland remains one of America's most significant European security partners, engaged in deep military cooperation that spans F-35 deliveries, Patriot air defense systems, and extensive eastern-flank coordination.
In a Saturday interview with a news outlet, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Warsaw considered the visa decision a direct intrusion into Poland's internal legal affairs, adding that he had personally conveyed his government's displeasure to a senior US official.
According to Sikorski, former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro secured the travel document under a journalist visa obtained through misrepresentation, and had publicly signaled intentions to mobilize political support among the Polish diaspora on American soil.
Ziobro, who served as both justice minister and attorney general under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, was among the chief architects of Poland's sweeping judicial overhaul — reforms that triggered a prolonged confrontation with Brussels over rule-of-law violations.
Polish prosecutors have since filed 26 criminal charges against him, centered on the alleged misappropriation of funds from the Justice Fund, a state mechanism designed to assist crime victims that authorities contend was redirected for political ends. Separate investigations have also scrutinized procurement decisions linked to surveillance technology allegedly deployed against opposition figures and journalists. Ziobro denies all wrongdoing, maintaining the prosecution is politically driven.
For Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government — which came to power after the PiS era ended in 2023 — compelling Ziobro's appearance before a Polish court has emerged as a defining test of its pledge to restore institutional accountability.
The controversy deepened following reports that senior US officials intervened to expedite Ziobro's visa application.
Warsaw has so far sought to insulate its strategic partnership with Washington from the mounting political friction. Poland remains one of America's most significant European security partners, engaged in deep military cooperation that spans F-35 deliveries, Patriot air defense systems, and extensive eastern-flank coordination.
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