A Polish parliamentary commission has begun
investigating accusations that the previous government illegally hacked the
phones of targets including political opponents, amid a growing scandal over
the use of Pegasus spyware.
A centrepiece of efforts by the new
pro-European administration to uncover the truth about alleged wrongdoing
during eight years of nationalist rule, the probe has also taken on a new
dimension due to media reports that members of the former ruling party were
themselves victims of phone hacking.
If confirmed, such reports could blow apart an
opposition that has thus far been united in the defence of its record and the
actions of ministers that the new government says broke the law.
The Commission decided on Monday it would call
Law and Justice (PiS) party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, former Prime Minister
Beata Szydlo, former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro and former Interior
Minister Mariusz Kaminski to testify.
"We will reveal the truth," Witold
Zembaczynski, a member of the commission and of the largest grouping in the new
government, Civic Coalition (KO), told state-run news channel TVP Info.
"Our work in the investigative commission will cause not only an earthquake,
but also a tsunami."
Reports in 2021 by the Associated Press that
the software, developed by Israel-based NSO Group, was used to hack the phones
of government critics, including the head of the election campaign of what was
then the largest opposition party, drew accusations that security services
eroded democratic norms.
"It was the most anti-democratic
behaviour during the electoral process that it is possible to imagine,"
said KO lawmaker Jacek Karnowski, himself reportedly a victim of phone hacking.
The new government has set about to overhaul
the courts, state media and state-controlled companies in a bid to wipe away
what it says are the effects of politicisation and croneyism under PiS.
PiS calls it a political witch-hunt and says
it always acted legally.
"In accordance with Polish law, all
surveillance must be accepted by a court ... I'm sure that every surveillance
conducted by secret services was accepted and ordered by court," former
Deputy Justice Minister Sebastian Kaleta said.
However, recent Polish media reports suggested
the spyware may have also been used against PiS politicians, news that if
proved true could strain lawmakers' loyalties.
"It seems to me that this may be,
unfortunately, a trial by fire that (PiS) won't necessarily pass," said
Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political scientist at Warsaw University.
Source: Reuters