Polish prosecutors have charged two former intelligence service chiefs over their handling of the Pegasus spyware program, marking a critical moment in the country's efforts to hold officials accountable for alleged surveillance abuses under the previous government.Piotr P., former chief of the Internal Security Agency (ABW), and Maciej M., former head of Military Counterintelligence (SKW), face charges of failing to fulfill their duties by allowing the controversial spyware system to operate without required security accreditations, Polish Radio reported on Tuesday.The charges allege that both officials permitted Pegasus to function without verifying whether it met classified information protection standards, exposing the Polish state to potential security risks. The maximum penalty for such offenses is three years imprisonment, though prosecutors determined no preventive measures such as detention were necessary. Both suspects have denied wrongdoing.Pegasus, developed by Israeli firm NSO Group, is military-grade spyware capable of penetrating mobile devices to extract messages, photos, and other data without the user's knowledge. The technology became the center of a major political scandal in Poland after allegations emerged that the Law and Justice (PiS) government used it to monitor political opponents, prosecutors, and activists during the 2019 election campaign.In Poland, as across Central Europe, history is never far from the surface—and neither is the memory of occupation. The surveillance scandal touches on deeply held Polish concerns about state overreach and democratic institutions, shaped by decades of communist-era monitoring and more recent struggles over the separation of powers.The charges represent the first concrete legal action following Donald Tusk's coalition government's promises to restore democratic accountability after winning elections in late 2023. Tusk's administration has made judicial independence and rule-of-law restoration central to its efforts to repair Poland's relationship with the European Union, which had frozen billions in funds over concerns about democratic backsliding under PiS.The Pegasus affair contributed to significant tensions between Warsaw and Brussels during the PiS years. European Parliament investigations found that Poland was among several EU member states that acquired the spyware, raising questions about surveillance oversight across the bloc. Hungary, Greece, and Spain also faced scrutiny over their use of similar technology.A specialized team at the National Public Prosecutor's Office continues to examine the using Pegasus and how the system was deployed across Polish intelligence services. While the current charges focus on security protocols and administrative failures rather than specific targeting decisions, the investigation represents a test of whether post-PiS Poland can hold security officials accountable for actions taken under political direction.The case reflects broader tensions in Central European democracies between security imperatives and civil liberties protections. Unlike Western European states with longer traditions of intelligence oversight, Poland and its neighbors have struggled to build robust safeguards following their transitions from communism—a challenge that became acute as digital surveillance capabilities rapidly expanded.For the Tusk government, pursuing accountability for Pegasus abuse serves both domestic and European objectives. Domestically, it demonstrates a break from PiS-era practices that many Poles viewed as authoritarian. Internationally, it signals to Brussels that Warsaw is serious about democratic restoration, potentially unlocking the frozen EU funds that Poland desperately needs for economic development and security investments amid the Ukraine war.