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Ex-Polish judge says international warrant for his arrest coming soon

Tomasz Szmydt noted that he had not received any official notifications or messages yet even though he’s open to dialogue and available on social media

MINSK, May 17. /TASS/. Former Polish judge Tomasz Szmydt who has taken refuge in Belarus says that an international warrant for his arrest is being readied.

"They are preparing an international warrant for my arrest. A decree on my arrest has already been issued, which charges me with espionage," he noted.

Szmydt added that he had not received any official notifications or messages yet even though he’s open to dialogue and available on social media. "In fact, I plan to fight for my rights both at the national and international level," the judge said.

Earlier on Friday, Szmydt arrived at the Polish embassy in the Belarusian capital of Minsk to hand over a package of documents, including letters to the justice minister, the prosecutor general and the Polish human rights ombudsperson, which contain information about the Polish government’s violation of national laws and international conventions. However, the embassy refused to accept the documents and the ex-judge had to put them into a letter box.

Szmydt, who used to serve as a judge at the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw, earlier left for Belarus due to his disagreement with the Polish government's policies. At a press conference in Minsk on May 6, he announced plans to ask the Belarusian authorities for political asylum and protection. After moving to Belarus, the judge was dismissed from office in his home country and put on a national wanted list as part of an investigation into his possible links with foreign intelligence agencies. Szmydt said that Warsaw planned to send contract killers after him; he also did not rule out that Western and Ukrainian intelligence agencies could take hostile action against him. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the country’s law enforcement agencies to ensure the former judge’s safety.

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