“We appeal to the government and the prosecutor’s office to cease actions that bear the hallmarks of political repression,” reads a letter addressed to the government. The appeal expresses solidarity with those who are currently facing criminal charges for authorizing and using the ICT system known as Pegasus. The letter was signed by several dozen former heads and deputy heads of Polish special services.
The content of the appeal was published on X by Krzysztof Wacławek, former head of the Internal Security Agency. The signatories defended former head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau Ernest Bejda, former head of the Internal Security Agency Prof. Piotr Pogonowski, and former head of the Military Counterintelligence Service Brig. Gen. (ret.) Maciej Materka.
Below is the full text of the appeal:
“Effective and professional operations of special services are of fundamental importance to Poland’s security, the identification and combating of threats to the interests of the Republic of Poland, and above all the prevention of criminal incidents.
It is the role of the leadership of special services to ensure that subordinate agencies are provided with the necessary forces and resources, including specialized technical tools required to carry out their statutory tasks. This obligation arises both from the provisions of the Constitution and from statutory laws, as emphasized by the Constitutional Tribunal in its judgment of July 30, 2014, case file K23/11.
In light of this judgment and the applicable legal provisions, providing services with the technologies necessary for the effective performance of their duties is not only a responsibility but indeed an obligation of the Heads of Special Services. The prosecutor’s decisions to bring criminal charges against former Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau Ernest Bejda, former Head of the Internal Security Agency Prof. Piotr Pogonowski, and former Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service Brig. Gen. (ret.) Maciej Materka – concerning, among other things, the authorization and use of the ICT system known as Pegasus – are harmful to Poland and contradict the binding legal provisions as well as the established practice of special services.
These charges, as well as harassment directed at other officers performing lawful operational control activities, constitute a form of political repression. This is already leading to the destruction of the operational potential of Polish special services and weakening the morale of officers serving Poland. The most advanced technical tools used for operational control, such as Pegasus, are widely employed by many NATO countries, and their use – as assessed by the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court – complies with Polish law.
This system was always used by Polish services in accordance with and within the limits of the law, each time exclusively on the basis of court decisions, which was confirmed during an audit conducted within the services for the years 2016-2023. This was personally confirmed by Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar. Therefore, we strongly appeal to the government and the prosecutor’s office to cease actions that bear the hallmarks of political repression, the consequence of which will be a lasting weakening of the potential and effectiveness of Polish services, decision-making paralysis within the national security system, and a loss of trust among our allies. Poland, especially amid the escalating security crisis in Europe, cannot afford this.”
The appeal was signed by:
Dr. Piotr Bączek – former Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service;
Col. (ret.) Krzysztof Banaszek – former Deputy Head of the Military Intelligence Service;
Col. (ret.) Bernard Bogusławski – former Deputy Head of the Internal Security Agency;
Col. (ret.) Paweł Bojarski – former Deputy Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service;
Marek Chodkiewicz – former Deputy Head of the Military Intelligence Service;
Col. (ret.) Hubert Dzierzęcki – former Deputy Head of the Military Intelligence Service;
Col. (ret.) Jacek Gawryszewski – former Deputy Head of the Internal Security Agency;
Col. (ret.) Bartosz Jarmuszkiewicz – former Head of the Intelligence Agency;
Col. (ret.) Paweł Kacprzak – former Deputy Head of the Military Intelligence Service;
Daniel Karpeta – former Deputy Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau;
Brig. Gen. (ret.) Andrzej Kowalski – former Head of the Military Intelligence Service;
Col. (ret.) Norbert Loba – former Deputy Head of the Internal Security Agency;
Brig. Gen. (ret.) Marek Łapiński – former Head of the Military Intelligence Service;
Brig. Gen. (ret.) Witold Marczuk – former Head of the Military Intelligence Service, former Head of the Internal Security Agency;
Col. (ret.) Agata Mazur – former Deputy Head of the Military Intelligence Service;
Col. (ret.) Grzegorz Ocieczek – former Deputy Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, former Deputy Head of the Internal Security Agency;
Bogdan Sakowicz – former Deputy Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau;
Marcin Stec – former Deputy Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau;
Col. (ret.) Andrzej Stróżny – former Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau;
Brig. Gen. (ret.) Maciej Szpanowski – former Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service;
Col. (ret.) Maciej Urbański – former Deputy Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service;
Col. (ret.) Marek Utracki – former Deputy Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service;
Col. (ret.) Krzysztof Wacławek – former Head of the Internal Security Agency;
Col. (ret.) Lech Wojciechowski – former Deputy Head of the Internal Security Agency;
Col. (ret.) Krzysztof Zieliński – former Deputy Head of the Internal Security Agency;
Stanisław Żaryn – former Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister;
Col. (ret.) Radosław Żebrowski – former Deputy Head of the Internal Security Agency.