By Melike Pala
BRUSSELS (AA) - Hungary's main opposition party Tisza has indicated that Polish officials currently under asylum in the country could face extradition if it wins the April parliamentary election.
"If we win the election, we will not agree to Hungary giving shelter to criminals," Zoltan Tarr, head of the party's delegation to the European Parliament, told TVP World on Wednesday, applying the policy to all nationalities, including Poles.
"This is a more general approach. We do not want to grant asylum to any criminals from any country – this also applies to criminals from Poland," he said.
Former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro and his ex-deputy Marcin Romanowski were granted asylum in Hungary after facing multiple criminal charges in Warsaw, including alleged misuse of millions of euros from the justice fund and deployment of Pegasus spyware against political opponents.
Poland in response summoned the Hungarian envoy and expressed its opposition to the asylum decisions.
Asked if Ziobro and Romanowski could be returned to Poland if Tisza wins the April election, Tarr said the decision would be up to independent courts.
"The rule of law must be restored," he said, arguing their cases should be reviewed.
He said the Hungarian public had no information on how or why the asylum was granted. "It is difficult to keep up with the decisions of (Orban's) government, because the way they apply the law depends on their political agenda."
A recent Politico poll showed Tisza, led by former insider-turned-opposition-leader Peter Magyar, nearing 50% support, well ahead of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party.