Why did a Polish judge flee to Belarus and does it have anything to do with Ukraine?
On 7 May, Tomasz Szmydt, a judge of the Voivodeship Administrative Court of Warsaw, appeared at a press conference in Minsk.
He repeated almost verbatim the main points of the Belarusian and Russian propaganda narrative directed against Poland.
However, propaganda is the least of the problems. The judge who had access to classified information became prey for the Belarusian and Russian special services.
It is not ruled out that in their interests he was carrying out tasks not only in Poland, but also in Ukraine, as stated in an article by Michał Kacewicz, a Belsat publicist and journalist – Escape to Belarus. What is known about the Polish judge accused of espionage for Russia.
The disclosure of the fugitive judge did not overwhelm Polish politicians, the media and special services because of the irrational things he voiced at the press conference. And he will probably continue to voice them in the programmes of the Belarusian and Russian propaganda machine.
Clearly, his propaganda speeches are only an epilogue, because the Belarusian services are trying to extract the maximum benefit from their collaborator. In particular, they can show Belarusians and Russians, hostile to Poles, that even average Polish officials flee from Warsaw as a sign of protest against Russophobia.
Obviously, this inflated theatrical performance is also intended to undermine Poland's reliability in the eyes of its Western allies and demonstrate the strength of Belarusian services to Polish agencies.
The real nature of Szmydt's cooperation with the Belarusian services causes deeper concern. And it's not about his propaganda show.
Tomasz Szmydt has caused significant harm when he collaborated with the Belarusian KGB while still in Poland.
And perhaps also with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.
As a judge of the Administrative Court, Szmydt had access to judicial materials, mostly administrative proceedings, appeals and processes between government agencies. He had access to databases and personal files, probably related to the activities of special services.
And even if this information is fragmentary and far from the highest level of importance, it is extremely valuable for the special services. Also, Szmydt was useful to enemy services thanks to his numerous contacts in Polish legal, government and political circles.
Tomasz Szmydt has violated at least one of the key provisions of the judicial oath: he did not keep secrets. The Higher Administrative Court lifted immunity from former Judge Szmydt and issued a permit for his arrest.
According to some sources, the judge never openly expressed his pro-Russian or pro-Belarusian views. On the contrary, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he verbally supported the Ukrainians. Probably, this was just a well-thought-out cover.
By the way, after his divorce, he started a relationship with a Ukrainian citizen and repeatedly traveled to Ukraine.
According to his former colleagues, during his work at the Ministry of Justice and courts, the fugitive talked a lot about the opportunities that business opens up for Poland along its eastern borders.
According to many experts, in Poland, he acted at the behest of Belarusian or Russian services, which aimed to destabilise the Polish judicial sphere and weaken Poland's position in the EU.
Whether he acted in Ukraine in the interests of his curators from Minsk and Moscow is currently unknown. But this cannot be ruled out.
Regardless of what prompted the judge to resort to betrayal, this story is a vivid illustration of the fact that Poland has found itself at the center of a secret intelligence war.
As Poland is a frontline state and a base of support for Ukraine, it has become the object of massive and aggressive intelligence activities by Russia and Belarus as its ally.