Zbigniew Ziobro, former Minister of Justice, commented on social media about his next summons before the investigative commission into the Pegasus case. He is scheduled to appear for a hearing on November 4. He wrote about a “supposed commission” and referred to the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal in this case, which wants to block the commission's activities.
Former Minister of Justice and PiS politician Zbigniew Ziobro is one of the people who were summoned to testify before the Sejm investigative committee investigating the illegal use of the Pegasus spyware by the authorities in previous years. The commission wants to hear Zbigniew Ziobro on November 4.
Ziobro has already been summoned before the committee three times. He justified his absence twice by providing a certificate issued by a medical examiner related to cancer.
READ MORE: Ziobro didn't show up. There will be a court application in his case
“This card would even be funny”
On Thursday, Ziobro posted a photo of a summons to appear before the commission on his profile on the X website. “This card would even be funny, and its authors would be good jokers, if it were not for the fact that, according to the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal, the members of this 'supposedly commission' had committed a crime, among others, under Article 231 of the Penal Code,” he commented.
“On September 10, the Constitutional Tribunal stated that the scope of activities of the parliamentary investigative committee on Pegasus was inconsistent with the Constitution and removed it from the legal system. MPs impersonating a non-existent commission will be held criminally liable for this – it is a matter of time. I will send each of them a copy of the Constitutional Tribunal's judgment, so that they cannot defend themselves in court that they did not know,” added the former head of the Ministry of Justice.
The Pegasus Commission of Inquiry is examining the legality, correctness and purposefulness of activities undertaken using this software, including: by the government, secret services and police from November 2015 to November 2023. The commission is also to determine who was responsible for purchasing Pegasus and similar tools for the Polish authorities.
The Constitutional Tribunal wants to block the commission's work
September 10 Constitutional Tribunal stated that the scope of activities of the Pegasus investigative commission is unconstitutional. Judge Stanisław Piotrowicz, former PiS MPjustifying the Tribunal's decision, said that the resolution to appoint an investigative committee regarding Pegasus was “affected by a legal defect.” According to the Constitutional Tribunal, the Sejm adopted a resolution by deliberating in an “inappropriate composition” by preventing the exercise of parliamentary mandates. Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik (who were sentenced by a final judgment).
So far, the commission has heard, among others: former deputy prime minister and president of PiS Jarosław Kaczyńskiformer deputy head of the Ministry of Justice, politician of Sovereign Poland Michał Woś, 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.
Pegasus is a system that was 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.
Main photo source: Darek Delmanowicz/PAP