After several weeks of controversy, the leader of the ruling party in Poland admitted on Monday in an interview published in full in the magazine Sieci that the government had purchased the Israeli Pegasus surveillance software. But he denies its use against members of the opposition, despite the revelations of the Citizenlab organization.
With our correspondent in Warsaw, Sarah Bakaloglou
In this long interview with the weekly Sieci, the President of Law and Justice (PiS) and Deputy Prime Minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski returns to one of the hottest subjects of the moment: ” It would have been a shame if the Polish services did not have this type of tool. “, He admitted, referring to the Pegasus surveillance software used, he assures, legally and in order to fight against crime.
Denials
So, according to him, the stories of Pegasus using Pegasus for political purposes against the opposition are utter nonsense. No need to create an independent commission of inquiry on the subject. These words come after several weeks of denial or silence from the majority on the use of this software as the scandal drew comparisons with the investigation into the Watergate scandal which led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Once installed in a mobile phone, Pegasus provides access to messaging and user data, but also to activate the device remotely to capture the sound or the image.
In the interview, Jaroslaw Kaczynski pointed out that any use of these methods was “ still under the control of a court and the prosecutor’s office “. He also rejected the opposition’s accusations, believing that they did “ a lot of noise for nothing “.
“ We won’t sell our independence for money “
Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity monitoring lab headquartered in Canada, has confirmed the use of Pegasus against three people in Poland, including Krzysztof Brejza, senator from the main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO) , while coordinating his campaign during the legislative elections in 2019.
In this interview, the leader of the ruling party also discusses the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, where attacks, on a smaller scale, continue to occur, he explains.
Asked about the blockage around European funds, which have still not been paid to Poland because of the state of law situation in the country, Jaroslaw Kaczynski says: “ We will not sell our independence for money. “Negotiations with Brussels are possible, he adds, stressing, however, that the previous ones have not been successful, not through their fault.