In Katarzyna Gójska’s program “W punkt” on TV Republika, recordings were revealed showing a high-ranking officer of the State Protection Service (Służba Ochrony Państwa, SOP), Wojciech B., head of Radosław Sikorski’s protection detail, planning a gruesome revenge against investigative journalist Piotr Nisztor. The conversation involves talk of torture, murder, and killing the journalist’s dogs from “Gazeta Polska” and TV Republika.
This is material that will shock Polish public opinion. Piotr Nisztor, a journalist with “Gazeta Polska” and TV Republika, obtained recordings of a private conversation among SOP officers, recorded in February 2024 – already after the swearing-in of the coalition government on December 13. The main figure on the tapes is Lieutenant Colonel Wojciech B., nicknamed “Biszkopt,” the man responsible for the security of the country’s most important figures.
In addition to B., the conversation also includes his close friend (a businessman) and a woman. Their names are known to the TV Republika editorial team.
The “Gruesome Plan” of Revenge
TV Republika presented fragments of the recordings in which vulgar language and threats directed at the journalist can be heard. The SOP officer outlines a vision of brutal retribution for publications about him. He threatens Piotr Nisztor with beating, torture, pouring fuel over his corpse, and killing his two dogs as revenge for the materials published about him.
“I’ll break his legs with a baton, and that’s it. I am, you know… God is slow to anger, but just […] He’ll lie there for a while until it quiets down… And then I’ll pour fuel over him,”
Wojciech B. says on the recording.
“The threats are very specific. These are threats of beating, breaking bones (…), threats of imprisonment, torture in a garage, and then most likely murder in the form of hiding the body and, after some time, setting it on fire with fuel,”
journalist Piotr Nisztor listed in his conversation with Katarzyna Gójska.
“There’s also the story of running over my dogs with a car. I have two French bulldogs (…), and Wojciech B. says he will simply run over those dogs of mine,”
Nisztor revealed.
Who is Wojciech B.?
The figure behind the threats raises additional controversy. As established by Piotr Nisztor, Lieutenant Colonel Wojciech B. is an experienced officer who, during the previous PO-PSL governments, was head of Radosław Sikorski’s protection (when he was also Foreign Minister). During the Law and Justice (United Right) government, he protected Zbigniew Ziobro for several years, only to return to protecting the current Foreign Minister after Donald Tusk’s return to power.
“I am shocked that a man who protects the most important people in the state, who until recently was part of the protection detail for the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Polish government (…), directs such gruesome threats against me,”
Nisztor commented.
The motive for the officer’s hatred appears to be the journalist’s articles and books, including the publication “Sharks of War: Who Really Profits from Trading Polish Weapons,” which describes the story of Wojciech B. and his “side earnings after hours.”
In 2014, Nisztor wrote in “Wprost” about Wojciech B.:
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski is one of the most important and influential people in Poland. He not only has access to the most secret materials but also participates in making strategic decisions for the state. It is therefore no surprise that officers of the Government Protection Bureau (Biuro Ochrony Rządu) ensure his safety around the clock, even during vacations. The problem is that the contacts of one of the heads of his protection raise doubts and may endanger the minister’s security. This concerns long-time BOR officer Wojciech B., alias “Biszkopt.” According to our findings, while in service, he maintained unclear relations with Pierre D., a French arms dealer suspected of ties to foreign intelligence services. In January 2012, both traveled to Africa on a private plane chartered by the President of Gambia. At the time, B. was formally on leave and did not inform anyone about his trip.
An Attempt to Sweep the Matter Under the Rug?
The TV Republika and “Gazeta Polska” editorial teams attempted to obtain explanations from state authorities. On Friday, detailed questions were sent to the State Protection Service, informing them of the possession of compromising recordings. By the time the program aired, no response had been received – neither from the SOP nor from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration overseeing the service.
Instead of explanations, information about “purges” in the SOP began appearing in media sympathetic to the current government.
“Today, an under-the-radar publication appeared on one of the internet portals, claiming there is a major purge in the State Protection Service, and among those leaving is the officer who allegedly threatened the journalist,” Nisztor noted. In his opinion, this may indicate that services under the Ministry of Internal Affairs knew about the planned publication and are now trying to save face by quietly removing the compromised officer.
“We will not allow this matter to be swept under the rug,”
Piotr Nisztor firmly declared.
The full material, along with longer excerpts from the recordings, will be presented on Saturday in the program “Strictly Confidential” (“Ściśle Jawne”) on TV Republika.