(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, JUL 27 - Polish authorities asked the United States to arrest and extradite former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, a member of the Law and Justice (PIS) party, in order to try him for abuse of power, embezzlement of public funds, and spying against political opponents. According to a statement from the Polish National Prosecutor's Office, the request was transmitted through diplomatic channels via Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek. The extradition request concerns 19 of the 26 charges brought against Ziobro in connection with a series of activities carried out between 2017 and 2023 while he served as Minister of Justice: among them, the formation and leadership of a criminal organization, breach of official duties, manipulation of public tenders, and the concealment of documents. Ziobro—the architect of the judicial reforms that put Poland on a collision course with the EU—had been granted asylum in Hungary during Viktor Orbán's administration. After the new Budapest government led by Péter Magyar promised to hand him over to the authorities, the former minister left the country in May for the United States, where he was hired by a Polish broadcaster close to the PIS as a political commentator. (ANSA).