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Tomasz Szmydt
Polish jurist / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tomasz Szmydt (Polish pronunciation: ['tɔmaʃ 'ʃmɨt]; born 27 April 1970 in Białystok, eastern Poland[1]) is a former[2] Polish jurist, employed as a judge in the Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw.[3] He adjudicated in the law court's second department on access to classified information in regard of members of the Polish military and intelligence.[4]
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On 1 May 2024,[5] via Turkey,[6] he defected to Belarus, where he applied for political asylum to 'temporarily rest [...] in an open and friendly country.'[7] The judge most likely was extracted from Poland by the Belarusian security forces.[8][9] Szmydt would have rather defected to Russia, but due to the short-visit visa waiver for Polish citizens to enter Belarus, he chose the latter country to avoid raising the Polish Foreign Intelligence Agency's suspicions.[10] On 6 May 2024, the Belarusian state-owned governmental news agency BelTA held a press conference in Minsk, during which Szmydt praised the Belarusian authorities,[11] proposing that Belarus is ‘a country with great potential,’ headed by ‘a very wise leader.’[12] Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, reciprocated; dubbing the fugitive judge 'a brave man'[13] Szmydt later explained that he fled to Belarus to 'protest to the Polish authorities who under the influence of the US and the UK are leading the country to war.'[14]
At this conference, Szmydt presented his signed letter of resignation from the post of a judge in the Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw.[15] The Regional Court announced that they were unaware of this letter, while Szmydt was on his annual leave through 10 May 2024.[16] On 7 May 2024, the Regional Court initiated disciplinary proceedings regarding the judge's case.[17] In reply to the request lodged by National Public Prosecutor's Office (Prokuratura Krajowa), on 9 May 2024, the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland waived the judge's immunity.[18][19] Furthermore, the Supreme Administrative Court also accepted the judge's public resignation. As a result Szmydt ceased being a judge.[20][21]