Lukashenko grants political asylum to former judge Tomasz Szmydt

On May 6, 2024, Tomasz Szmydt, a former judge of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw, announced in Minsk that he was resigning from his judicial position and formally requested asylum from the Belarusian authorities.

Szmydt claimed that his move to Belarus was a "protest against the policies of the Polish authorities towards Belarus and Russia."

Following this announcement, Poland's National Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation into allegations of espionage on behalf of a foreign intelligence service. The Disciplinary Court at the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) revoked Szmydt's judicial immunity, permitting his arrest. On May 9, the NSA President accepted Szmydt's resignation, effective immediately.

Minister of Special Services Coordination Tomasz Siemoniak told TVN24 in May that there was no doubt Szmydt was "working at the behest of a foreign state." On May 13, the National Prosecutor's Office submitted a request for Szmydt's temporary detention.

In the week following his defection, Szmydt actively engaged with Belarusian and Russian state media, portraying himself as a victim of the "Polish regime" while praising the Belarusian and Russian governments. His social media profiles also displayed overt support for the Russian propaganda apparatus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko granted asylum to Tomasz Szmydt, who is persecuted for political reasons in Poland, Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported on Friday.

It added that Szmydt was being "persecuted for political reasons" in Poland.

"Due to disagreement with the policy and actions of the authorities, he was forced to leave Poland in May 2024 and asked for protection from the Belarusian authorities," BelTA said.

"He is currently in Belarus. He was persecuted and threatened for his independent political position," the Belasian agency added.

After seeking asylum in Belarus, Szmydt officially resigned from his judicial post by correspondence. Poland's National Prosecutor's Office charged him with espionage in absentia and issued an arrest warrant, with the Warsaw District Court also issuing a European Arrest Warrant against him.

Since then, Szmydt has appeared in Belarusian and Russian media, echoing propaganda narratives while portraying himself as a victim of repression due to his political views.

Belarusian media later reported that he began working at BelTA and founded an organization called "Polish Truth," aimed at "revealing information about European and American politicians, their connections to intelligence services, and corruption."

Szmydt described Belarus as a "truly free and safe country," despite its government having forced at least half a million people to flee the country over the past four years and imprisoning thousands for political reasons.

This incident follows a similar case in December 2021, when Emil Czeczko, a Polish soldier serving at the Polish-Belarusian border, defected to Belarus. Czeczko was found dead in Minsk in mid-March 2022.