#TOMASZ SZMYDT

A former judge who had his judicial immunity removed after fleeing to Belarus amid accusations of being a spy is now facing a second European Arrest Warrant following allegations related to a hate scandal.

Interpol has rejected a request to issue a Red Notice for Tomasz Szmydt, the Polish judge that claimed asylum in Belarus in May.

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has said he will grant protection to Tomasz Szmydt, a Polish judge who fled to Minsk.

Polish Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar reported that the National Prosecutor’s Office had submitted a formal request to the disciplinary court of the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) to remove Judge Szmydt’s immunity. The request also includes approval for his arrest on espionage charges.

Prosecutors from the Organized Crime and Corruption Department have “initiated an investigation into the participation in the activities of foreign intelligence” by Tomasz Szmydt, a Polish judge who fled to Belarus and asked for political asylum.

Poland’s National Security Bureau (BBN) chief Jacek Siewiera stated that the case of Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who is seeking political asylum in Belarus, is an unprecedented event with potentially powerful consequences.