Polish prosecutors have filed charges against Slawomir Cenckiewicz, head of the National Security Bureau (BBN), and former Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak for allegedly wrongfully declassifying secret military documents for use in electoral campaigning.
The case highlights an ongoing dispute over Cenckiewicz’s security clearance and reflects the broader political tensions between nationalist allies of former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, including President Karol Nawrocki, and the centrist government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Cenckiewicz, who previously headed the Military History Office, and Blaszczak reportedly used the classified documents during the 2023 parliamentary election campaign to claim that Tusk, as prime minister from 2007 to 2014, had planned to abandon eastern Poland in the event of a Russian invasion. PiS lost its majority in that election, paving the way for Tusk’s pro-European coalition government. Critics say the documents were taken out of context and should not have been disclosed for political purposes.
Prosecutors stated that Blaszczak “exceeded his authority by removing the ‘TOP SECRET’ and ‘SECRET’ classifications from fragments of strategic-level operational planning documents.” Cenckiewicz is accused of seeking personal benefit by using the documents in a television documentary critical of Tusk.
Both Cenckiewicz and Blaszczak described the charges as politically motivated. Cenckiewicz called them “driven by revenge” and “completely unjustified,” while Blaszczak termed them “an act of revenge” from Tusk.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, a member of Tusk’s Civic Coalition, warned that the charges should serve “as a warning to all politicians that none should dare to play with Poland’s security for the sake of party gain.”
Other former officials, including a defence ministry employee and a former member of the National Broadcasting Council, have also been charged.
