Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported that Tomasz Szmydt, a judge from the Second Division of the Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw, has sought “protection and refuge” from the Belarusian authorities.

According to the ABW spokesman Jacek Dobrzyński, the ABW is actively examining the matter. “The Internal Security Agency today initiated investigative procedures to verify the scope of classified information accessed by the judge from the Regional Administrative Court who requested asylum in Belarus, in connection with his function and ongoing cases,” Dobrzyński wrote on the X platform.

Szmydt publicly announced his decision on Monday during a conference in the Belarusian capital. He cited disagreement with the actions of the Polish authorities as his reason for leaving the country, claiming to have faced persecution and threats due to his “independent political stance.”

In addition, Szmydt presented a letter addressed to the President of the Supreme Administrative Court in Warsaw, Jacek Chlebny, also copied to President Andrzej Duda and the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), resigning from his position at the Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw “with immediate effect.”

The court’s schedule indicates upcoming hearings in administrative cases where Szmydt is part of the adjudicating panels. On June 4, he was assigned to classified sessions in a special courtroom of the court, regarding cases against the Prime Minister’s Office involving denial of security clearances for access to classified information labeled “confidential”, “NATO SECRET”, “ESA SECRET”, “EU SECRET”.

This development follows the case of Senior Private Emil Czeczko, who fled to Belarus in December 2021. Czeczko, a former soldier in the Polish Army stationed on the Polish-Belarusian border, was found dead in Minsk in mid-March 2022.