MINSK, May 6. /TASS/. Tomasz Szmydt, judge for the Voivodeship Administrative Court of Warsaw, has asked for political asylum in Belarus due to disagreements with the policy of the Polish government.
"Yes, I ask for a political refugee status," he said, answering a question from TASS during a press conference in Minsk, adding that this is an unofficial request at this time.
He addressed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko with a request to ensure his protection in Belarus.
"I would like to dare to address Mr. President Alexander Lukashenko directly. I apologize for my nerve, but I would like to ask for protection, custody of Mr. President and Belarus in general," he said.
Szmydt noted that he currently considers returning to Poland impossible, including due to safety reasons.
"Considering the nature of my work, considering that I had access to classified information, it will not be a problem to forge the documents and accuse me of spying for Russia, Belarus or, maybe, even China," the judge said.
"If I get targeted by Polish, American or British intelligence - they solve such problems via different means. This could be a car accident, suicide or something else. If I want to live, my return is impossible," Szmydt said, disclosing that "some want" him to head "to the UK and disappear there."
"I picked a moment when I could cross the border freely; I probably would not have been able to do that later," he said.
After officially resigning as a judge, Szmydt noted that he would like "to have a little rest" in Belarus first.
"I would like to show Belarus [to Europeans] the way I see it as a foreigner. It is a very friendly country," he said.
He pointed out that he "has no problems" in Belarus over his Polish nationality. He noted that he would like to invite people of Baltic states to come visit Belarus to make sure that the information about the situation in the republic, provided by the local media, is false and biased.
Previously, Szmydt occupied various offices in the Polish judicial system; in particular, he headed the legal department of the National Judge Council. He was subjected to persecution and was forced to leave his home country due to his disagreement with the policy of Polish authorities, who, according to the judge, are leading Poland towards war under influence of the US and the UK.