WARSAW – Norway has granted asylum to a Polish man who had fled prison term for fraud and forging of documents, but says the prison term was a form of political persecution under Poland's right-wing government.
Observers say that Rafal Gawel's case is the first time political asylum has been granted to a Pole in more than 30 years since the fall of communism in Poland.
They see it as another sign that international trust in Poland's justice system has been undermined by the government, which is putting it under political control.
The decision by Norway’s appellate immigration body to grant refugee status, announced last week, gives Gawel, his wife and daughter the right to reside in Norway for a year.