Former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro has been detained by police following dramatic scenes at a TV station.
Officers arrived at the conservative TV Republika offices in Warsaw on Friday morning armed with a court order forcing Ziobro to testify before a parliamentary investigation.
The inquiry is looking into allegations that Pegasus, an Israeli-made covert surveillance system, was used by the former Law and Justice (PiS) government to spy on its opponents.
Ziobro is the highest-profile member of the PiS government, which was in power between 2014 and 2023, to be caught up in a concerted campaign by the current government to hold accountable those who may have broken the law while in office.
Police had earlier tried to find the former minister at his home to escort him to a hearing on the use of the spyware, but it transpired he was taking part in a live broadcast at the Republika studios.
Ziobro was taken into custody when he left the building, and the Pegasus investigative committee has requested his detention for 30 days.
The ex-minister, who repeatedly failed to appear before the investigative committee, said he had nothing to fear from an investigation he considers political.
Ziobro has questioned the legality of the Pegasus probe and said that if he attended voluntarily, he would be “de facto participating in illegal activities, and maybe a crime.”
