BUDAPEST, January 12. /TASS/. Several Polish citizens who were persecuted by the authorities in their country have been granted political asylum in Hungary, said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto, noting that such steps fully comply with EU standards.

"Democracy and the rule of law in Poland are in crisis and under threat," he told reporters after a meeting with the leader of the Lithuanian right-wing Dawn of Nemunas party Remigijus Zemaitaitis.

"We have granted asylum and refugee status to several people who suffered from political persecution in Poland," Szijjarto said without naming any of them.

Earlier, Warsaw said that former Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, opposition member of the Polish Parliament Zbigniew Ziobro, who is fleeing criminal prosecution, had received political asylum in Hungary. In his homeland, he is charged with 26 counts, including fraud with funds from the Justice Fund and illegal phone tapping of 578 Polish politicians.

Hungary believes that the current Polish authorities are persecuting Ziobro solely for political reasons. Last November, Prime Minister Viktor Orban received him at his residence in Budapest.