Poland to probe previous government’s spyware use

Poland’s parliament on Wednesday (17 January) said it would create a committee of inquiry into alleged use of the Israeli spyware Pegasus by the previous populist government as well as police and secret services.

The government of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled from 2015 to 2023, is suspected of having spied on opposition politicians and magistrates critical of its administration.

Political tensions have been rising in Poland since the new pro-European government, headed by former European Council president Donald Tusk, took over from the PiS in December after securing an election victory.

Citizen Lab, a Canada-based cybersecurity monitoring group, claimed that Pegasus was used against several people in Poland.

Polish government accused of illegal purchase of Pegasus software

The government’s use of €5.4 million of court funds to buy the Israeli Pegasus software to investigate a person suspected of criminal activity was unlawful, claims leading Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

The revelations cast new light on the recent information that the Central Anti-Corruption …

One notable target, they say, was Krzysztof Brejza, who is currently a member of the European parliament but previously coordinated the electoral campaign of an opposition party, Civic Platform, during 2019 legislative elections.

Once installed in a mobile phone, Pegasus can provide access to the user’s messaging and data, but also allows the device to be activated from a distance to record sound and images.

PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński admitted in 2022 that his country had bought the spyware, but denied that it had been used against opposition politicians.

The parliamentary committee of inquiry will investigate the objectives and legality of the use of Pegasus, and try to establish how it and other similar systems were acquired by Poland.

Since coming to power, the pro-European coalition has been at loggerheads with conservative nationalist President Andrzej Duda, who is supported by the PiS, creating legal chaos and political instability.

The new parliament has already launched two other committees of inquiry into the actions of the PiS government: one for the failed attempt to organise presidential elections during the Covid-19 pandemic; and another over the mass distribution of paid-for Polish visas by consulates in various countries.

Germany summons Polish ambassador over cash-for-visas affair

Germany summoned the Polish ambassador on Tuesday (19 September), and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser spoke to her Polish counterpart to discuss allegations about a cash-for-visas deal for migrants that has roiled Polish politics, government sources said.

On Wednesday, Poland’s former deputy foreign minister, Piotr Wawrzyk, was detained and charged with overstepping his authority in connection with the visa affair, prosecutors said.