Former judge of the Second Voivodeship Administrative Court of Warsaw Tomasz Schmidt, who fled to Belarus, is now working as a journalist in the state propaganda agency BelTA, reported Polish publications Do Rzeczy and Polsatnews.pl.
Since the beginning of June, Schmidt has been writing an author's column in the agency, in which he covers events in the world and Ukraine from the point of view of Russian narratives, as well as talks about how much he loves Lukashenka.
The former Polish judge calls his cooperation with BelTA "a very good job.
Tomasz Schmidt fled from Poland to Minsk in early May, at which time he gave a press conference, during which he asked for asylum from the Belarusian authorities. He said that in his homeland he had been "persecuted and threatened for his independent political position." Meanwhile, in Poland, Schmidt was involved in a so-called hater scandal involving his wife, due to which he was temporarily suspended from his duties.
In mid-May, the Polish National Prosecutor's Office (PNP) put the fugitive judge on a national wanted list, and earlier a court in Warsaw arrested Schmidt in absentia and ruled to strip him of his judicial immunity.
On June 10, the District Court of Warsaw issued a European arrest warrant for Tomasz Schmidt, who is accused in Poland of passing classified information to foreign intelligence and participating in the activities of foreign intelligence services.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called Schmidt a
a "traitor." "This is an absolutely shocking case. We had a traitor once before, and I think this is a similar case," he said.
This is not the first time Polish citizens have sought political asylum in Belarus. In 2021, Polish border guard Emil Chechko fled to Belarus, Polish authorities accused him of desertion. A year later, Chechko was found hanged at his place of residence in Minsk. In June 2022, another Polish citizen, pro-Russian activist Marcin Mikolajek, requested asylum in Belarus.
