October 10, Pozirk. Authorities in Poland’s Masovian Voivodeship have granted a request by the National Public Prosecutor’s Office to revoke the passport of former Polish Judge Tomasz Szmydt, who defected to Belarus in May, Onet reported, citing information obtained by Gazeta Wyborcza.
The move significantly limits Szmydt’s ability to travel unless Minsk issues him a Belarusian passport, the report said.
Szmydt claimed that he was forced to leave Poland because of disagreement with the government’s policy. He also said that he “was persecuted and threatened for his independent political position.”
In 2019, he and his wife were reportedly involved in a smear campaign targeting judges who opposed judicial reforms by the Law and Justice (PiS) government that was in power in Poland at that time.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Belarusian secret services had recruited Szmydt a long time ago.
