The Warsaw Regional Court announced the decision on Wednesday. Court spokeswoman Anna Ptaszek said the judges considered the document a better course than relying on measures that had so far failed to bring Romanowski back to Poland. Prosecutor Piotr Woźniak said the prosecution would appeal.
Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek argued that the court should have been bound by the prosecution’s objection. Article 281(2) of Poland’s Code of Criminal Procedure says that, during a preparatory investigation, an iron letter may be issued at a prosecutor’s request or when the prosecutor does not object. Żurek also criticized the participation of a judge appointed in 2021 under Poland’s disputed judicial reforms.
An iron letter allows a suspect or defendant to remain at liberty before trial, provided they attend every summons, stay at an approved place of residence in Poland unless the court permits otherwise, and do not unlawfully obstruct the proceedings.
Romanowski, a former deputy justice minister in the Law and Justice government, is suspected in an investigation into alleged abuses involving the Justice Fund. Prosecutors accuse him of, among other things, participating in an organized criminal group and manipulating grant competitions. A European arrest warrant and a domestic wanted notice were issued. Hungary granted him asylum in December 2024; later reports said it withdrew his refugee status and invalidated his travel documents. Since Hungary’s change of government in May 2026, media have circulated unconfirmed accounts of his whereabouts.