In fresh days, the Polish political scene has been dominated by controversy about alleged cooperation between Polish and Russian peculiar services. During a press conference with the president of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, a servant of Ukriaina, referred to the case of Paweł Rubcov, a GRU officer who, according to media reports, was to gain access to investigation materials, including secret ones, before his trade in the West.
Cooperation with the FSB under Donald Tusk
President Duda recalled that in 2012, under Donald Tusk's rule, there was an agreement between the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) and the Russian national safety Service (FSB). According to him, Prime Minister Tusk agreed to this cooperation, which raises questions about its possible continuation to this day. "Was this cooperation between Russian services and the services of the Republic under Prime Minister Donald Tusk continued? due to the fact that that's how it looks," Duda asked during the conference.
Reaction of Tomasz Siemoniak
Tomasz Siemoniak, peculiar services coordinator and head of the Ministry of abroad Affairs responded rapidly to the president's statement. In a conversation with TVN24, he expressed his surprise that the president could have put that thesis at all. Siemoniak stressed that the spokesperson of the National Prosecutor's Office clearly stated that Paweł Rubcow had no access to any state secrets that could harm Poland.
"He was, like everyone who was arrested, like anyone who had been charged, familiarized with the case files. It's a natural issue. So I have assurance in the prosecutor's office," said Siemoniak. He added: “This is the President’s message I do not want to comment on. I don't want to believe he could say anything like that."
Position of the National Prosecutor's Office
The National Prosecutor's Office, referring to the allegations, issued a communication explaining that the provision of a suspect's file is simply a legal work under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Pursuant to Article 156 §5a of the NCP, ‘in the event of a request for or an extension of the provisional arrest to the fishy and his lawyer, the case file shall be made available immediately in the part containing the content of the evidence attached to the application’.
The Prosecutor's Office added that in the case of Paul Rubcov there were no grounds for refusing to make the file available, as the provisions do not supply for specified a anticipation for persons who were subject to temporary arrest.
Paul Rubcov's trial
The indictment against Paul Rubcow was directed to the Industrial territory Court in August 2024. Rubcow, besides known as Pablo Gonzalez, was accused of spying on the Russian military intelligence GRU. According to the allegations, his business was to get and transmit information that could harm Poland as a NATO associate State.
The National Prosecutor's Office indicated that the investigation into another persons cooperating with Rubcow is inactive ongoing and that any evidence has been excluded from the separate investigation.
Exchange of prisoners with Russia
On 1 August 2024, 1 of the largest exchanges of prisoners between Russia and Western countries since the Cold War took place in Ankara. The operation included 24 people, including Pawel Rubcow, who was detained by Polish services in February 2022 on the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Summary
The case of Paweł Rubcov and its consequences caused a storm in Polish politics, showing the complexity and delicacy of global relations and legal procedures. Statements by president Andrzej Duda and the reactions of politicians specified as Tomasz Siemoniak item the importance of maintaining transparency and the regulation of law in the activities of state authorities, peculiarly in the context of matters of specified importance for national security.
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