“I believe that using this agency in such a way is unacceptable and completely ruins its reputation,” wrote former CBA chief Andrzej Stróżny on X.com, commenting on the high-profile arrest of MP Dariusz Matecki by ABW officers.
Yesterday in Warsaw, PiS MP Dariusz Matecki was publicly detained in a dramatic operation. Despite heading to the prosecutor’s office voluntarily for questioning, he was pulled from his car by ABW officers in the middle of a busy street, blocking traffic in the process. Experts have no doubt that this was a “showcase operation” by the authorities.
While the scale and intensity of the operation may have been surprising, the use of this agency for such cases—and the chosen method of execution—should never have happened. “A failure both in terms of image and beyond,” Stróżny wrote.
He also pointed out that the current government had previously deployed significant forces to raid the empty house of Zbigniew Ziobro, forcibly breaking down the door, as well as launching an investigation into the purchase of equipment for volunteer fire departments.
“The whole world watched these events. I often wonder what our colleagues from friendly foreign intelligence agencies think about us—because I can already guess what our adversaries think,” Stróżny emphasized.
Without commenting on or assessing the evidence in these cases, which remains unknown, Stróżny noted that, based on information from the prosecution, the investigations concern alleged administrative misconduct and mismanagement of public funds. None of these cases involve counterintelligence, terrorism, or any strategic threats to Poland—matters that fall under ABW’s statutory mandate.
“I’ve been raising this issue for a long time. I believe that using this agency in such a way is unacceptable and completely ruins its reputation,” he reiterated.
Stróżny also stressed that ABW is “diligently collecting such infamous operations,” which may never be forgotten and could become a significant burden for the agency in the future.
“And then we also witnessed—live, online—state security forces entering the apartment of journalist Ewa Stankiewicz in search of an aircraft wreckage. But that time, the military got involved. At this point, I have no words,” he concluded.