Warsaw Administrative Court Judge Tomasz Szmydt reported on Monday that he had applied for political asylum in Belarus. He pointed out that his request for political asylum is still unofficial. He defended his position by saying that he “protests against the Polish government, which, under the influence of the United States and Britain, is leading the country (Poland) into war,” wrote the server belsat.eu.
He says he wants to rest in Belarus. Poland is one of the countries that most supports Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. At a press conference in Minsk, Szmydt also announced, according to the TASS agency, that he was resigning from the post of judge.
Szmydt claims that he was forced to go to Belarus because of the pressure he faced in his homeland. He explained that he dealt with cases involving the police, military and secret services and said he had access to materials of varying degrees of classification, including top secret.
In the past, Szmydt figured in an affair that involved hateful attacks on Polish judges who criticized changes in the judiciary promoted by the former national conservative Law and Justice government.
“I will honestly say that I am in shock,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski responded to the information about Szmydt’s escape to Belarus, according to the onet.pl portal. “We had traitors here once, and it looks like this is a similar case,” he added. He reminded Polish soldier Emil Czeczko, who defected to Belarus in 2019. Investigators in Minsk reported in March 2022 that he was found dead in his apartment.
