Hungary granted asylum to Marcin Romanowski, former Polish deputy justice minister

Marcin Romanowski, the former Polish deputy justice minister, has been granted asylum by Hungary.

By: dailynewshungary.com

Dec 21 2024
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Hungary granted asylum to Marc

Marcin Romanowski, the former Polish deputy justice minister, has been granted asylum by Hungary, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said in an interview with online news portal Mandiner. He also said that there is a rule of law in Poland.

Hungary grants asylum to Marcin Romanowski

Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, confirmed the news about Marcin Romanowski’s political asylum in Hungary to Mandiner. Former Polish Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Romanowski has reportedly sought and been granted political asylum in Hungary. According to Hungarian and EU law, the asylum was granted after Romanowski faced what has been described as a breach of due process in Poland.

Gulyás said there had been proof of the lack of fair procedure in the case of the former deputy justice minister who was arrested this summer despite being protected by immunity in his capacity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Gulyás said Romanowski was released only after an official complaint had been submitted by the assembly’s president to Polish authorities. A court in Poland confirmed that the arrest had violated laws.

Serious allegations

While Marcin Romanowski faces allegations of serious crimes involving damage to state assets in Poland, his arrest occurred despite his immunity. According to Gulyás, the Hungarian state, which granted him political asylum, cannot assess the validity of the charges or access details of the Polish proceedings. He further explained that political asylum is awarded when there is significant doubt about the impartiality and independence of judicial processes in the applicant’s home country. In this instance, concerns about political influence in Poland’s legal system, particularly in Romanowski’s case, were deemed sufficient to justify the asylum, the Hungarian politician explained to Mandiner.

How will this affect the relationship between the two countries?

Gergely Gulyás underlined that Hungary did not interfere in other countries’ domestic politics but it was necessary to state that a constitutional crisis had developed in Poland since last year’s elections as a result of the Tusk government’s actions. He added that for instance, the Polish government failed to carry out the decisions of the Polish constitutional court, and “criminal law was being used as a tool against political rivals”.

The decision to grant asylum to Marcin Romanowski is unlikely to ease tensions between Hungary and Poland, but Hungarian authorities have maintained a consistent stance on asylum since 2015. They argue that individuals fleeing war or political persecution, such as former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, should be granted refugee status regardless of any political disputes. Hungary emphasises the distinction between migration and the protection of genuine refugees.

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