Poland’s former conservative government spied on hundreds of people using Pegasus software

by times news cr

2024-04-17 18:31:36

The parliamentary investigative committee is currently investigating whether the PiS government, which was in office until December, also used Pegasus to track political opponents. PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski previously denied the relevant accusations. However, according to Polish media, there is now even evidence that the PiS government used the software to spy on prominent politicians in its ranks.

Last week, Justice Minister Adam Bodnar said that 31 people against whom the Pegasus program was used had received summonses to the prosecution to testify as witnesses.

MEP Krzysztof Brejza later said that he had received such an invitation. He belongs to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Citizens’ Coalition. Before 2019 K. Brezja led the election campaign of his party, which then belonged to the opposition, in the parliamentary elections. In addition to him, according to Polish media, Pegasus software was used to spy on a female prosecutor who criticized the judicial reform of the PiS government, as well as a well-known opposition lawyer, Roman Giertych.

Journalists, human rights organizations and data analysts in 2021 first reported Pegasus in July. This software has been widely used around the world primarily by authoritarian governments to spy on critics, opposition figures and journalists. Pegasus exploits vulnerabilities in smartphones to gain access to data. Wiretapping is also possible.

2024-04-17 18:31:36

You may also like

Leave a Comment