Former Polish security chief forced to testify in spyware probe

The former head of Poland’s Internal Security Agency (AWB), Piotr Pogonowski, was detained by police on Monday and forcibly brought before parliament to testify on the misuse of Israeli-developed spyware by the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government.

A special parliamentary commission is currently investigating accusations that the PiS-led government abused the Pegasus software, developed by Israel’s NSO Group, to spy on individuals deemed “inconvenient” to them while in power. 

According to Poland’s current justice minister, the system was used to surveil almost 600 people between 2017 and 2022, including several politicians, as well as the head of the main opposition’s parliamentary election campaign in 2019.

After Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s new coalition came into power in 2023, prosecutors launched an investigation into the issue and a special parliamentary body was established to look into alleged misuse of the spyware.

PiS figures, however, have been refusing to testify on the matter, arguing that the commission is unlawful.

Previously, Poganowski, who ran the AWB from 2016 to 2020 and is currently a member of the central bank’s management board, had ignored three summonses to testify, prompting a court to order his arrest on Monday.

After being taken before the committee, Poganowski declared that he had been brought there “illegally” and reportedly gave vague answers to questions. When asked when he had learned of the Pegasus system, he initially claimed that he first heard of it from media reports. Later he clarified that he was only referring to when he first heard the name, and not about the system itself, according to the Onet news outlet.

Throughout his testimony, the former AWB chief repeatedly declined to give answers, claiming that he was prevented by law from publicly discussing aspects of the work of the agency.

Nevertheless, he stated that he believed it was vital for Polish security agencies to be “equipped with the latest tools” and stressed that technology such as the Pegasus system helped protect the country from “real terrorist and espionage threats, but also against common crimes.”

After nearly three and a half hours, the commission chair announced a break and stated that the session would resume behind closed doors.

Following Monday’s arrest of his colleague, former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who also served in the PiS government, stated that he would also testify before the commission after having repeatedly refused in the past.