Interpol has refused to issue a red notice for former Polish Deputy Minister of Justice Marcin Romanowski, despite a request from national authorities. Romanowski is at the centre of legal proceedings launched after Donald Tusk’s coalition secured a parliamentary majority in the 2023 elections—proceedings described by many, including senior Hungarian government officials, as politically motivated.
Romanowski is currently residing in Hungary, after the Hungarian government granted him political asylum in December 2024, citing procedural irregularities and the political intentions behind the prosecution of him, his former superior Zbigniew Ziobro, and other officials in connection with the Justice Fund. Prosecutors allege that Romanowski was involved in allocating funds—intended to support victims of abuse—to ineligible organizations, prioritizing political allies in the distribution of grants, and using public money to illegally purchase spyware, among other charges.
A district court in Warsaw issued a European arrest warrant for Romanowski last year. The charges include 11 alleged criminal offences, such as participation in an organized criminal group, causing damage to state property, and money laundering. Romanowski has denied all allegations, describing the prosecution as unlawful and citing a lack of due process in his case.
Chief of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás announced in December 2024 that the government, in accordance with national and EU laws, had granted Romanowski political asylum. He emphasized that the case met the criteria for political asylum, which may be granted when there is no guarantee—beyond any doubt—that the applicant would receive an impartial assessment free from political interference in their home country.
The move triggered a significant stand-off between Budapest and Warsaw, prompting the Tusk government to launch a diplomatic attack on Hungary. Measures included excluding Hungary’s ambassador to Warsaw from the opening ceremony of Poland’s rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in January. Poland also vowed to take the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Interpol’s decision not to issue an arrest warrant for Romanowski marks a pivotal development in the case, signalling that the international organization may also regard the prosecution as politically driven. According to Law and Justice (PiS) MP Marcin Warchoł, Interpol declined to issue a red notice under Article 3 of its Constitution, which explicitly prohibits the organization from engaging in any intervention or activity of a political, military, religious, or racial nature. ‘It is difficult to conclude that military, religious, or racial activity was involved. It remains political, which may mean that the international police organization has considered the prosecution of Minister Romanowski to be political in nature,’ Warchoł remarked.
‘Interpol has considered the prosecution of Minister Romanowski to be political in nature’
As Poland prepares for a presidential election in May, Interpol’s decision could bolster support for PiS candidate Karol Nawrocki, who is currently trailing Tusk’s candidate, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, by approximately 5 to 10 percentage points. Romanowski’s case is just one among several prosecutions targeting former PiS government officials, including former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Despite growing concerns that Donald Tusk is weaponizing the judiciary against his political opponents, the European Commission moved swiftly to close both the rule of law conditionality mechanism and the Article 7 procedure against Poland shortly after Tusk came to power. At present, President Andrzej Duda remains the last significant check on Tusk’s consolidation of power—a development that may further intensify politically motivated prosecutions.
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