The Warsaw district court agreed to the Pegasus committee's request to forcefully bring the former head of the Internal Security Agency Petr Pogonowski to the meeting, the head of the committee Magdalena Sroka (PSL-TD) reported. The meeting is scheduled for December 2, he added.
Piotr Pogonowski did not appear at the meetings of the Pegasus committee three times, citing the September ruling of the Constitutional Court, which declared the committee's work unconstitutional.
After receiving the opinion of legal experts, the commission came to the conclusion that the situation is suitable for the use of coercive measures in the form of forcing a witness.
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The court decided to bring him forcibly
– On Wednesday, the Pegasus Committee was informed that the Warsaw District Court issued a decision according to which Mr. Piotr Pogonowski was fined PLN 3,000 for the latter's non-appearance, and at the same time requested the Committee to arrest and forcibly bring the witness to the meeting – said the head of the commission Magdalena Sroka (PSL-TD).
According to him, the trial of Pogonovsky was held on December 2 at 24:10. – This meeting was planned in part openly, but in the other part in a secret form, – he added.
Pegasus Commission hears Piotr Pogonowski Albert Zawada/PAP/EPA
Sroka explained that the former head of the Homeland Security Agency is an important witness because he was in charge of the Agency when the Pegasus system was purchased. He noted that the Homeland Security Agency also used spyware.
Pogonovsky and the case of the purchase of the Pegasus system
Piotr Pogonowski served as the head of ABW from 2016 to 2020. Currently, he is a member of the board of the National Bank of Poland and is responsible for administration, security and control departments. In the past, he was also the head of the office of the head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, Mariusz Kaminski, and in 2011, he failed to run for the Seimas from the PiS list.
So far, the commission has heard among others: former deputy prime minister, PiS president Jarosław Kaczynski, former deputy minister of justice, Polish politician Michal Vos, former director of the Department of Family and Juvenile Affairs at the Ministry of Justice Mikołaj Pawlak and other employees of the Ministry of Justice.
The Pegasus Commission of Inquiry will examine the legality, propriety and appropriateness of activities using this software, including: by the government, secret services and the police from November 2015 to November 2023. The commission will also determine who is responsible for purchasing Pegasus and similar instruments were responsible for the Polish authorities.
Main photo credit: Albert Zavada/PAP/EPA
