Tusk speaks in defense of Polish generals accused of links with FSB
European Council President Donald Tusk has spoken in defense of two former chairmen of the Military Counterintelligence Service of Poland who served in office during Tusk’s tenure as Prime Minister of Poland. He wrote about this on Twitter.
"I am proud that, as Prime Minister, I could cooperate with generals Pytel and Nosek. They were models of responsibility, patriotism and honor," stressed Tusk.
The previous morning, the military gendarmerie of Poland detained the former chairman of the Military Counterintelligence Service of Poland (SKW), General Piotr Pytel. He and his predecessor, Janusz Nosek, as well as another Polish counterintelligence officer, have been accused of unofficial contact with representatives of the FSB without prior consent from state leadership.
Pytel faces up to three years in prison for cooperation with the FSB.
In December 2016, the Warsaw Prosecutor's Office announced an investigation into abuse of authority by the former chairmen of the SKW. At that time, it was reported that they had been in contact with representatives of the Special Services of another country without the consent of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland, which is required by law for military intelligence and counterintelligence. Donald Tusk was interrogated in April 2017 as a witness regarding this case.
The Prosecutor's Office has accused the two former military counterintelligence leaders and officer of inappropriately signing a cooperation agreement between the SKW and the FSB in 2010. The agreement concerned the return of the Polish military contingent in Afghanistan to Poland through Russian territory.