US EditionFormer Polish Justice Minister Taken by Police From Plane to Testify Before Spyware Investigation
Ziobro admitted approving Pegasus spyware used in hundreds of probes, exposing alleged corruption tied to politicians near Prime Minister Tusk, amid a politically charged inquiry.
- On September 29, 2025, Zbigniew Ziobro, who served as Poland's justice minister until 2023, was taken into police custody upon his arrival at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport and escorted to testify before a parliamentary committee investigating the use of Pegasus spyware.
- The detention followed a Warsaw District Court order after Ziobro repeatedly ignored eight previous summonses, citing a Constitutional Tribunal ruling declaring the commission unlawful, while the Tusk government accuses PiS of misuse.
- During nearly eight hours of testimony, Ziobro admitted authorizing the purchase of Pegasus under PiS, defended its use against criminals and terrorists, and said it uncovered alleged corruption involving politicians linked to Prime Minister Tusk.
- The spyware was used to monitor around 578 individuals between 2017 and 2022, leading the current government to accuse the previous administration of targeting political adversaries, while Ziobro cautioned committee members that the situation could change and promised investigations into their conduct.
- The event intensified Poland’s political and legal crisis, highlighting deep divisions over rule of law and government legitimacy amid accusations of politicized justice and obstructed judiciary rulings.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Polish Ex-Minister Dragged to Spyware Hearing by Police
Former Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro was forcibly detained by police at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport on Monday morning, September 29th, and escorted to parliament, deepening a political and legal crisis in the country. The move is yet another chapter in the left-liberal government’s efforts to pursue its conservative political opponents. Ziobro, who served as justice minister under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, landed in Wa…
The former Minister of Justice was detained at Warsaw Airport after 10 a.m. In accordance with the court's decision, he was brought to a meeting of the Pegasus Investigative Committee. The hearing began at 12 noon.
Krzysztof Brejza, MEP of the Civic Coalition, announced that he had asked Magdalena Sroka, chairwoman of the Pegasus inquiry committee, to confront Zbigniew Ziobro "so that, looking him in the eye, we can crush all the lies, manipulations and slanders he has resorted to today."
"There is a gross twisting and sweeping under the carpet of the affairs of influential and prominent people in today's government," Ziobro said.
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