Defected judge to sue Polish FM Sikorski

June 5, Pozirk. Ex-Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who defected from Poland to Belarus in early May, wants to sue Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, Belarusian state-run media reported.
Szmydt accused the Polish top diplomat of defaming him by “repeatedly calling him a traitor.”
“I am not a traitor, there is no such article and I have never been convicted of treason,” he said during a visit to the Museum of Polish-Soviet Comradeship in Arms in Lenina, Horki district, Mahiloŭ region.
“A minister has no right to make such statements without a trial,” he added.
He said he will send his lawsuit to the Polish Prosecutor General by regular mail and email.
Earlier, Szmydt claimed that he “was persecuted and threatened for his independent political position” in Poland and was forced to flee because of disagreement with the government’s policy.
The Polish Supreme Administrative Court dismissed Szmydt after his defection, sanctioning his arrest and prosecution for alleged spying.
The Warsaw District Court ruled to arrest Szmydt for three months without the defendant being present.
In the most recent development, Interpol refused to issue a red notice for the ex-judge, noting that national security threats, including espionage, are not covered by its area of responsibility.
Interpol refuses to issue red notice for defected Polish ex-judge Szmydt
- Economy, Politics, SecurityLithuania appeals to EU for help in returning trucks from BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsExiled politician urges Europe not to build wall for BelarusiansThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityLithuania reports a rise in irregular migration amid tensions with BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarusian general blames West for tensions, avoids underlying causesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Security
- PoliticsPro-Russian influencer Alekseyev granted asylum in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyMore Belarusians register with Poland’s ZUS system for pension and disability benefitsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja calls for greater support for democratic forces in Belarus and MyanmarThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, Politics, Security
- PoliticsCriminal prosecution of dissidents, censorship reported on November 27, 28The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarus sentences former Ukraine volunteer fighter Vieramiejčyk to 13 years in prisonThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUN committee says persecution for white-red-white flags is a violation of right to hold opinionsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Security, SocietyThree Belarusians arrested in Poland on suspicion of spyingThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsMinsk outraged by Vilnius’s refusal to engageThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarus-EU irregular border crossings hit four-year highThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyBelarus designates 23 as extremists, three as terroristsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarus designates music radio station as extremist groupThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Society
- Economy, PoliticsŁukašenka travels to Oman as part of his Asian, African tourThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyHouseholds’ disposable income up 4.5 percent in Q3 – BiełstatThe material is available only to POZIRK+

