Opposition leader Donald Tusk spoke of “the biggest and deepest crisis of democracy” since the end of the communist regime in Poland, following reports that the government was spying on its political opponents.
“This is unprecedented in our history,” the former European Council president and current leader of the center-right Political Platform party told reporters. “It is the biggest, deepest crisis for democracy since 1989,” he insisted.
Tusk called for a parliamentary inquiry into allegations that Pegasus spyware was used against Christoph Breiza, a member of his party that coordinated the 2019 election campaign.
The Citizen Lab, a Canadian-based cybersecurity watchdog, said last week that Pegasus had also been used against Eva Wrozek, a prosecutor who has opposed controversial judicial reform in Poland. Another target was Roman Girtic, a lawyer who has dealt with lawsuits against the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS).
Pegasus is a software developed and marketed by the Israeli company NSO Group. Cell phones infected with it turn into “pocket spy tools” through which the user can read the messages of his target, see his photos, monitor where he is, and even unknowingly operate the camera.
Polish media have reported on the “Polish Watergate”, referring to the scandal of the Democratic Party in the US, which led to the resignation of then Republican President Richard Nixon.
Prime Minister Matthew Morawiecki has said he “does not know” if the surveillance was carried out, saying that if it was confirmed, it could have been the work of foreign secret services.
Stanislaw Zarin, a spokesman for the ministry in charge of intelligence, said allegations that the Polish services were using these methods for political purposes were incorrect. He did not confirm, nor did he deny, that Poland was using the Pegasus software, arguing only that surveillance could be carried out only at the request of the Advocate General, by a court order.
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
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Source From: Capital
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