Will the scandal over the former Polish prosecutor general’s arrest help Tusk?
Poland has been shaken by a high-profile event. On 31 January, police detained former minister of justice and prosecutor general Zbigniew Ziobro, right after his live TV interview.
Ziobro, who had previously refused to appear for questioning before the Pegasus Investigation Committee, was forced to comply with the law following a court ruling mandating his compulsory delivery.
Read more about the scandal and its possible impact on Poland’s election campaign in the article by international affairs expert Stanislav Zhelikhovsky, PhD in political science and international expert, and Yurii Panchenko, European Pravda's editor – The prosecutor general’s escape: how Poland’s biggest arrest failed and what it means.
First, it’s important to understand that Pegasus is a surveillance system developed by the Israeli company NSO Group for combating terrorism and organised crime.
This software allows not only eavesdropping on conversations from an "infected" smartphone but also accessing other stored data. As Canadian Citizen Lab found out, Pegasus was used in Poland to spy on opposition politicians.
The Pegasus Investigation Committee is currently examining the legality, correctness, and appropriateness of actions taken by Polish government structures using this software between November 2015 and November 2023.
The investigation concerns possible illegal surveillance of politicians, journalists, and activists during the rule of the Law and Justice (PiS) party.
One of the key tasks of the Sejm’s committee is to determine who authorised the purchase of Pegasus and similar tools for the Polish authorities and how they were used against journalists and opposition.
Zbigniew Ziobro, who served as Minister of Justice until 2023, is a central figure in this investigation.
His refusal to cooperate with the committee and failure to appear for hearings led the Warsaw District Court to order his compulsory delivery.
His arrest on 31 January, however, did not go smoothly. When police arrived at his house, no one opened the gates for them.
Only after Ziobro appeared live on TV Republika did he leave the studio and surrender to the police.
Yet, the 31 January arrest attempt ultimately failed, by the time the Sejm could vote to lift his parliamentary immunity, it had already adjourned. Ziobro’s televised stunt worked, allowing him to avoid immediate detention.
Following this, he announced that he was leaving Poland, allegedly for medical treatment.
It is now possible that verdicts will be issued in his absence, and he may seek political asylum in neighbouring Hungary.
Ziobro’s case is another major test for Poland’s political landscape ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for May 2025.
The current government is using the Pegasus scandal to criticise its predecessors.
Amid the battle for the presidency, Poland’s new government, led by Donald Tusk, is signaling its willingness to take radical action to clean up the political space from corruption and abuses of power.
Ziobro is believed to have seriously abused his authority – not only for political purposes but also for personal gain.
At the same time, supporters of Ziobro’s Sovereign Poland party and the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party view the investigation as political persecution, which could mobilise conservative voters.
The government’s failure to arrest Ziobro has only strengthened the opposition – for now, this situation appears to be playing in their favour rather than benefiting Tusk’s administration.