Justice minister says he has gun for personal protection

Poland's justice minister has defended himself for carrying a pistol, saying he needed one because he once had a death contract taken out against him.

Pictures of Ziobro with the handgun tucked into his belt, taken as a gust of wind blew his jacket up while he visited a lignite mine on Monday, have appeared all over the Polish media.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Ziobro said he had the "status of a victim in a case concerning a murder contract" and therefore a few years ago he had applied for a gun permit.

He added that the case was at the court stage and the person who had taken out the contract killing had been in pre-trial detention for a couple of years.

"He is one of the bosses of an organised crime group that dealt with drugs and psychoactive substances and who took out the contract against the person speaking to you right now," Ziobro said.

The justice minister also said he had been shooting for sport for more than 20 years, and added the reason he was carrying the pistol, a modified Glock 26, was that he had been firing the gun that weekend.

He went on to say that he was acting "on the basis and within law... and making this a sensation is completely incomprehensible."

As a government minister and prosecutor general, Ziobro is always accompanied by state protection officers.