Siemoniak assured that all procedures were followed, and the spokesman for the National Prosecutor's Office, Paweł Nowak, confirmed that the materials provided to Rubcow did not contain state secrets. According to Polish law, there was no basis for denying access to the files to a person who is temporarily detained.
On Thursday, the newspaper "Rzeczpospolita" reported that Paweł Rubcow, accused of espionage, had access to the investigation materials, including classified documents, before being handed over to Russia on August 1.
The newspaper's investigation suggested that the prosecutor's office could have denied him access due to "the protection of state interests."
No state secrets in shared documents, says prosecutor
"Only the prosecutor's office can comment on these matters. I have full confidence here," Siemoniak said when asked on Thursday in Kielce about "Rzeczpospolita's" report. The Minister added that he had discussed the matter with the National Prosecutor and the Prosecutor General, Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, as recently as Wednesday.
Siemoniak assured that all procedures had been followed, and the opinions appearing in the media regarding this issue were "absolutely exaggerated."
"I believe that all actions here were proper, and that the services and the prosecutor's office fulfilled all formalities," the politician emphasized, appealing for calm and urging people not to give in to opinions undermining the professionalism of Polish officials.
Siemoniak defends spy case procedures
The Minister noted that the decision to include Rubcow in the prisoner exchange between the USA and Russia was made in the final days before the exchange, and Rubcow had been in custody for over two years.
In response to "Rzeczpospolita's" report, National Prosecutor's Office spokesman Przemysław Nowak stated that the exception the newspaper referred to applies to suspects who are not detained.
In the files, both public and classified, made available to the espionage suspect Paweł Rubcow, there were no state secrets that could harm Poland in any way, Nowak clarified.
Expert: Rubcow case unlikely to threaten state security in Poland
"It is unlikely that he was given full documentation and the most sensitive data at this stage of the proceedings, meaning during the preparatory phase," Grzegorz Małecki, a security expert from the Kazimierz Pułaski Foundation, told the Polish Radio news agency (IAR). In his view, the case is "awkward," but it does not pose a threat to state security.
Source: IAR/PAP/"Rzeczpospolita"
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