The notification of the investigative committee for Pegasus regarding the former head of the Ministry of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, was analyzed and attached to the investigation into the use of the Pegasus software, conducted by the Investigative Team No. 3 of the National Prosecutor's Office – PK spokesman Przemysław Nowak told PAP.
At the beginning of October, the chairwoman of the parliamentary committee for Pegasus, Magdalena Sroka (PSL-TD), announced that the committee had submitted a report to the National Prosecutor's Office about the possibility of committing a crime by Zbigniew Ziobro after the former head of the Ministry of Justice was questioned by it.
Sroka then indicated that the notification submitted by the commission to the prosecutor's office contained three allegations – exceeding the powers and failure to fulfill the duties of a public official, disclosure of classified information to persons acting for a foreign entity and misappropriation of entrusted property by Ziobro, and violation of public finance law, which allegedly consisted in “unlawful off-budget financing of the CBA from the Justice Fund.”
As a spokesman for the National Prosecutor's Office told PAP, this notification was attached to the investigation conducted by the Investigation Team No. 3 of the National Prosecutor's Office, i.e. the investigation into the use of the Pegasus software.
– The notification has been analyzed. It does not constitute evidence in itself, but only information about evidence. In future decisions ending the proceedings, the prosecutor will certainly also refer to this notification, said prosecutor Nowak.
Zbigniew Ziobro was interrogated by the investigative commission on October 29. He was brought there by the police pursuant to the decision of the District Court in Warsaw from mid-September; He had previously avoided interrogation eight times. During the committee meeting, Ziobro testified that he was the initiator of the purchase of the Pegasus system. He also added that the final decision to purchase Pegasus from the Justice Fund belonged to the then deputy head of the Ministry of Justice, Michał Woś, who, however, “knew his directional will” in this regard.
The issue of legality, regularity and purposefulness of activities undertaken using Pegasus, including: by the government, secret services and police from November 2015 to November 2023 is the subject of research by the parliamentary investigative committee on Pegasus. Since March last year, the prosecutor's office has been conducting an investigation into the abuse of powers and failure to fulfill duties by public officials in connection with the use of this software.
In turn, the investigation into the Justice Fund has been conducted since February 2024 and is ongoing, among others: regarding the abuse of powers and failure to fulfill duties by the then head of the Ministry of Justice and ministry officials, who were responsible for the management, distribution and settlement of financial resources from the Fund.
Pegasus is a system created by the Israeli company NSO Group to fight terrorism and organized crime. Using Pegasus, you can not only eavesdrop on conversations from an infected smartphone, but also gain access to other data stored in it, e.g. e-mails, photos or video recordings, as well as cameras and microphones.
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