Poland’s Tusk calls secret services meeting

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WARSAW, Poland, May 8, (AP): Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk called Tuesday for a special meeting of the secret services to discuss alleged Russian and Belarusian infiltration after a Polish judge who had access to sensitive state information defected to Belarus.
Authorities in NATO and European Union member Poland are investigating the judge, Tomasz Szmydt, on suspicions that he was acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.
The Polish government said in a statement Tuesday that “Szmydt had constant and direct access to classified information. He has also been in contact with Belarusians for a long time. This situation should be of the utmost concern.”
Tusk announced the meeting of the the Secret Services College for Wednesday, saying it would focus on “alleged Russian and Belarusian influence in the Polish power apparatus.”
Earlier Tuesday, a Polish official said bugging devices were found in a room where the Polish Cabinet was scheduled to meet. Another official later said the equipment was part of an old sound system in the building, but the incident underlined anxieties in Poland over warnings that Russia is increasing its activities against the West amid the war in neighboring Ukraine.
“Every day there is new information about various strange events that are directly or indirectly related to the aggressive presence of Russian and Belarusian services in Europe,” Tusk said.
Szmydt fled Poland and then held a news conference Monday in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, saying that he was forced to leave Poland due to disagreements with the current authorities.

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