How Poland’s right-wing PiS party allegedly broke the law to push a false narrative during the 2011 election campaign—suggesting that then-Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government planned to hand over eastern Poland to Russia. That’s the key claim in a report by Gazeta Wyborcza, which uncovered details of a propaganda operation led by former Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.
The findings are part of a request to strip Błaszczak, now the head of the PiS parliamentary club, of his legal immunity.
Leaked secrets and political propaganda. How classified military documents were allegedly used to manipulate public opinion?
The report details how Błaszczak allegedly declassified secret military plans, originally fabricated by historian Sławomir Cenckiewicz, later the head of the controversial "Lex Tusk" commission.
According to the investigation by Poland’s Military Counterintelligence Service, Cenckiewicz devised a scheme to use classified documents for political propaganda and informed Błaszczak, who then initiated the process of removing their secrecy classification.
Documents obtained by Gazeta Wyborcza reportedly show a coordinated effort between PiS politicians, historians, and the creators of the TV series Reset, which aired on Poland’s state-run broadcaster TVP during the PiS government.
Błaszczak’s immunity at risk. The former defense minister faces consequences for declassifying top-secret plans
The materials declassified by Błaszczak were originally stored in the archives of the General Staff between 2015 and 2021 and were used to shape Poland’s national defense strategy.
Due to their sensitive nature, they were classified as top secret. Despite this, Błaszczak allegedly pushed for their declassification—a move that could now cost him his parliamentary immunity.
Source: Gazeta Wyborcza/IAR
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