Polish authorities arrested Zbigniew Ziobro, the country’s former justice minister, on Friday, accusing him of authorizing the use of government funds to finance the deployment of spyware that targeted opposition leaders. Ziobro, who served as justice minister from 2015 to 2023, is also alleged to have overseen cases where the surveillance technology was employed.
This arrest follows the earlier detention of Piotr Pogonowski, the former head of Poland’s Internal Security Agency, who was arrested earlier this week. The actions mark a significant escalation in a wider investigation led by Poland’s new Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, aimed at holding accountable those responsible for illegally using spyware against nearly 600 individuals from 2017 to 2022.
Prime Minister Tusk revealed in February that he had uncovered documents confirming the prior administration’s use of Pegasus spyware, a sophisticated tool manufactured by the Israeli-based NSO Group. Tusk emphasized that the documents “confirm 100%” that the previous government targeted political opponents using the technology.
The investigation into the use of Pegasus in Poland has been ongoing for several years. In September, a Senate commission found “gross violations of constitutional standards” when investigating whether Pegasus had been used to hack the device of an opposition politician in 2019. The Senate’s findings suggested that the 2019 elections were significantly compromised by the use of Pegasus, with the committee recommending criminal charges against those involved.
The Senate committee’s chairman declared at the time that “Pegasus was used in Poland to an extremely aggressive degree,” noting that it violated fundamental democratic rights.
Poland’s experience with Pegasus mirrors similar scandals in other European countries, such as Greece, Spain, and Hungary, where the spyware was used to target opposition figures and journalists.
Ziobro, who had previously refused to attend hearings investigating the Pegasus scandal, argued that participating would have meant engaging in illegal activities. Human rights organizations have praised Poland’s efforts to seek justice in the case.
Natalia Krapiva, senior tech counsel at Access Now, noted that the use of Pegasus was particularly concerning because it was financed using funds designated to protect crime victims. She stated, “The Polish investigation reveals that the past government misappropriated crime victims’ funds to spy on the opposition and civil society,” underscoring the severity of the abuses.
