On 6 May this year, Belarus press agency BielTA published a study on a press conference at which the justice of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw, Tomasz Szmydt, asked for political asylum in Belarus.
The reason for this decision was the protest against Poland's “unfair and harmful policy towards Russia and Belarus” and the opposition to actions that put Poland at hazard of armed conflict. justice Szmydt besides stressed that he was persecuted in Poland, although he did not indicate what these persecutions were about. The judge's name was made public a fewer years ago, in connection with the alleged "hate-afflict" which was blamed on his close associates Ziobry's biting.
The case of justice Tomasz Szmydt electrified the public in our country and was widely commented on fora and online. The reactions of mainstream politicians were easy to foretell – justice Szmydt was hailed a traitor and was collectively demarcated from reverence and faith. Minister for abroad Affairs Radosław Sikorski he assessed the information that justice Szmydt applied for asylum in Belarus as ‘shocking’ and referred to him as ‘the traitor’.
Advisor to the president of Poland Stanislaw Żaryn stated that Tomasz Szmydt is active in a hybrid war against Poland, calling him a “channel” and a “traitor”. akin invectors and epithets were more and not worth even quoting. Interestingly, both politicians of the government coalition and opposition began to bid on which political camp Tomasz Szmydt was associated. Representatives of the Civic Coalition reminded Shmydt's participation in the mentioned "Heater's affair" and his alleged influence in the Ministry of Justice during the days of Zbigniew Ziobra. On the another hand – Jarosław Kaczyński stated at an unofficial gathering with journalists that justice Szmydt was a man with connections to the people of today's power.
The question arises – what was the origin of the hysterical reaction of Polish politicians to the information about the departure of justice Szmydt to Belarus? There were arguments for the danger of revealing the state secrets to which he had access, as well as speculations about his alleged earlier agential activity to Belarus and Russia. However, these are only presumptions and not facts – at least based on the cognition presently available on this subject. Betrayal or spy activity can only be referred to in the case of a final conviction for an offence under Article 127 or 130 of the Criminal Code. At the time of his departure from Poland, Tomasz Szmydt was not even granted immunity and no charge was raised. At the same time, seeking political asylum under the law is no crime. The institution of asylum has been known for centuries and is now guaranteed by global conventions. Among another things, Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "every man has the right to search asylum and usage it in another country in case of persecution".
A completely separate issue is whether and how Tomasz Szmydt was persecuted in Poland. Given the fact that until his departure to Belarus he held the office of justice of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw, and was so a high-ranking public officer – there is no indication of that. It is besides not known that in the earlier period Tomasz Szmydt criticized the engagement of our country in the war and abroad policy of Poland – he could not do so publically due to the constitutional request of apolitical judges. It is besides hard to presume that justice Szmydt made his decision to leave Poland overnight and was not prepared for this earlier. The real motives of Tomasz Szmydt's actions stay unknown and the full case is unusual and unclear. It is not known whether political or individual reasons were involved. Nor can it be excluded that the hero of this full "affect" is part of any political gameplay or provocation. At the moment, it is so besides early to formulate judgments and to supply judgments.
Michał Radzikowski
