Is there a twist in the Polish Pegasus scandal? “Script written in the Kremlin”
The Pegasus scandal took on a new dimension after speculation emerged about an alleged Russian operation aimed at destabilizing the political situation in Spain and Poland. The narrative regarding the Russian thread was quickly picked up by right-wing politicians, who suggest that the Polish Pegasus affair is a “script written in the Kremlin.” Is it true?
In recent years, Pegasus, spyware from the Israeli company NSO Group, has been used in many countries to monitor politicians, journalists and activists, causing international scandals. The Spanish case, known as “CatalanGate”, involved surveillance of Catalan separatists, including political leaders such as Carles Puigdemont, which became a flashpoint in relations between Madrid and Barcelona.
In Spain, from 2017 to 2020, Pegasus was used to spy on at least 65 people associated with the Catalan independence movement. Citizen Lab, a Canadian digital rights research center, revealed that the software was used by Spanish authorities to monitor Catalan political leaders, including former presidents of the region, Deutsche Welle reports.
Is there a twist in the Polish Pegasus scandal?
Spanish authorities have strongly denied accusations of illegal use of Pegasus, arguing that all actions were legal and required court approval. The Spanish government claims it has nothing to hide, but has refused to cooperate fully with the parliamentary committee investigating the case, citing national security concerns.
On the other hand, Pegasus’ action helped establish that Russian services could be behind the actions of Catalan separatists.
The Russian thread was reported by, among others, Spanish website “El Mundo”. According to its findings, shortly after the riots in 2019, two envoys of the Russian authorities arrived in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. They could have coordinated mass protests in the region, which was supposed to be an element of the hybrid war waged by Russia in Spain.
The information about the cooperation between Catalan separatists and the Russians was also confirmed by European intelligence services.
The Pegasus affair. PiS: Scenario written in the Kremlin
A week ago, an entry by a user named John Bingham was published on the X platform, suggesting a connection between the Spanish thread and the Polish scandal.
In his entry, John Bingham tried to further discredit the Citizen Lab research, ignoring the fact that the wiretapping of Polish politicians was also confirmed by other organizations. Right-wing politicians reacted enthusiastically to the entry and are accused of illegally using Pegasus in the country. John Bingham’s narrative helps to relieve the right-wing of the burden of responsibility for the use of illegal wiretapping.
The entry by a user hiding under the pseudonym John Bingham on the X platform on October 7 aroused a lot of emotions, especially in the political environment of Law and Justice. In it, Bingham presented a theory suggesting that the “Pegasus affair” in Poland is part of a larger operation conducted by the Kremlin aimed at covering up Russian interference in the separatist movement in Catalonia.
In his narrative, the “Pegasus affair” is a smokescreen intended to divert public attention from the activities of Russian intelligence services in Spain.
In subsequent entries, Bingham pointed to cooperation between the Spanish government and Russian services in order to destabilize the Catalan region, based on reports from the Spanish police and courts that investigated the case. The author also stated that some of the documentation prepared by Citizen Lab is incomplete and even manipulated to hide the connections between Catalan separatists and the Russians.
In order to support his thesis, Bingham posted a photo from the meeting of the Pegasus committee in the European Parliament in September 2022, at which Roman Giertych and Ewa Wrzosek were present.
His narrative suggests that both of them, being bugged by Pegasus in Poland, may be part of a larger Kremlin “cover” operation. He uses the hashtag #Putin’s Helpers, which is intended to suggest their complicity in the activities of Russia’s influence.
PiS and Sovereign Poland politicians eagerly picked up Bingham’s narrative. Many of them referred to the entry, suggesting that the attacks on Pegasus are an attempt to cover up Russia’s actual intelligence activities in Europe (original spelling).
Marcin Romanowski, MP of Sovereign Poland, former deputy minister of justice, commented: “The Pegasus affair is a script written in the Kremlin.”
Jan Kanthak, MP from Sovereign Poland, former deputy minister of state assets, added: “A big thread that doesn’t surprise me at all. The attack on Pegasus is a typical Russian masquerade. #PutinHelpers.”
PiS MEP Tobiasz Bocheński also commented on the matter: “A fantastic explanation of a complex matter! The information is shocking. This is one of the most important issues of this year.”
Even the president of the Institute of National Remembrance, Karol Nawrocki, congratulated the author of the thread.
Bingham’s narrative is full of understatements and allusions
Although the politicians’ comments are consistent with PiS rhetoric, it is impossible not to notice that Bingham’s narrative is full of understatements and allusions, but does not contain impartially presented facts. – notes TVP Info, John Bingham likes to compare the terms “Pegasus affair” and “Kremlin operation”, which is supposed to suggest their connections.
In fact, according to analyzes of international research centers such as Citizen Lab and reports from “Politico”, the Spanish “Pegasus affair” was the reaction of the government in Madrid to Catalonia’s attempt to gain independence, in which contacts between Catalan separatists and Russians also played an important role. agents. In Poland, it was about eavesdropping on PiS opposition politicians, which, apart from Citizen Lab, was also demonstrated by Amnesty International and Apple.