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Panel urges treason probe for Polish ex-defense minister

30.10.2024 15:05
General Jarosław Stróżyk, the head of a Polish commission investigating Russian influences, has announced plans to ask prosecutors to investigate a possible "diplomatic betrayal" by former Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz.
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Warsaw, October 30, 2024. General Jarosław Stróżyk, the head of the commission investigating Russian and Belarusian influences and the Chief of the Military Counterintelligence Service, presented a report covering the years 2004 to 2024. On the left, Antoni Macierewicz.
Warsaw, October 30, 2024. General Jarosław Stróżyk, the head of the commission investigating Russian and Belarusian influences and the Chief of the Military Counterintelligence Service, presented a report covering the years 2004 to 2024. On the left, Antoni Macierewicz.PAP/Paweł Supernak

General Stróżyk presented a report that alleges Macierewicz's responsibility for the destruction of Polish intelligence services over the past 20 years, including the "dismantling of the ABW's regional offices and the secret collection of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN)."

The commission said it intends to request an investigation into Macierewicz's potential "diplomatic betrayal," linked to the abandonment of a multi-role aircraft acquisition and the cancellation of the purchase of air refueling aircraft.

"If Antoni Macierewicz were a Russian agent, he couldn't be doing his job any better," Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told broadcaster TVN24.

The report also pointed out the previous Polish government's failure to respond to warnings about Russia's impending invasion of Ukraine, despite alerts from U.S. intelligence.

Additionally, the commission noted structural changes in the ABW and staff shortages resulting from the closure of some regional offices.

Stróżyk suggested that the president's inner circle might be hiding information from the commission regarding Macierewicz's actions between 2015 and 2018.

The commission's work included analyzing thousands of pages of documents and posing questions to various institutions, although some analyses are still ongoing.

A partial report from the commission may be released in January 2025, while a report on disinformation is planned for presentation in November.

Source: PAP/TVN24/KPRM

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Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek has more.

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