Former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro did not appear for questioning before the parliamentary inquiry committee investigating the use of Pegasus spyware. This marked the seventh attempt to hear his testimony. Ziobro maintains that the committee is acting unlawfully.
The parliamentary committee on Pegasus had scheduled a hearing with the former Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, currently a Member of Parliament representing the Law and Justice (PiS) party, at 10:00 a.m. This was the seventh scheduled attempt to question Ziobro—the most recent effort having been on April 24.
“As expected, Mr. Zbigniew Ziobro did not appear before the committee. Therefore, we will need to draw conclusions from today’s session,” said committee chair Magdalena Sroka (PSL–TD).
The committee is investigating whether the use of the Pegasus surveillance software by the government, intelligence agencies, and police during the PiS administration was lawful. It is also tasked with determining who was responsible for the purchase of Pegasus and similar tools on behalf of Polish authorities. According to information already provided—among others by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK)—the Pegasus system was acquired in the autumn of 2017 for the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), primarily funded (PLN 25 million) by the Justice Fund, which was under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice.
Zbigniew Ziobro, along with other PiS politicians, argues that the parliamentary inquiry committee is operating illegally, citing a Constitutional Tribunal ruling that deemed the establishment of the Pegasus committee unconstitutional.