The story of the judge who fled to Belarus: the Polish Prime Minister spoke about treason

Belarus announced on Monday that judge Tomasz Szmydt crossed the border of Moscow’s close ally, with which Poland has strained relations.

“This is a person whose actions have signs of treason […]. Everything shows that he could have been a very valuable source for foreign services,” D. Tusk told reporters.

He called for the removal of Szmydt’s legal immunity and added that his ties with Belarus continued beyond the last few months.

Szmydts was close to the Polish right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which last year ceded power to the current pro-European coalition.

After T. Szmydt fled to Belarus, Warsaw prosecutors started an investigation into his possible espionage.

Among other things, according to media reports, T. Szmydtas handled cases related to security clearances for classified information related to NATO, the EU and the European Space Agency.

He also worked at the Ministry of Justice and the Trade and Companies Registry.

He appeared on a show hosted by Russian broadcaster Vladimir Solovyov, described by the US State Department as “the most energetic pro-Kremlin propagandist”.

The judge and his ex-wife took part in an online campaign attacking judges opposed to PiS reforms in the Polish legal system.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) has already said it is investigating “the extent of classified information the judge had access to”.

On Wednesday, D. Tusk called for the creation of an “effective institution” to investigate Russia’s influence on Polish politics.

Relations between Warsaw and Minsk have been tense for several years due to the political crackdown in Belarus and the dispute over migrants.

Relations have sunk to new lows since Belarus’s authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.