Former defence chief indicted for disclosing classified defence plan
Former Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has been charged with disclosing Poland’s secret defence plan after spending four hours at Warsaw's Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The politician could face a prison sentence ranging from one to ten years, according to Prosecutor Marcin Maksjan, who is involved in the case.
"The indictments have been made public and, in my opinion, these charges are baseless," Blaszczak told reporters on Friday after leaving the Prosecutor's Office building. "I had both the right and the duty to reveal the archived documents."
The announcement follows the lifting of Blaszczak’s parliamentary immunity on March 6, allowing for charges related to his declassification and public disclosure of fragments of the WARTA-00101 defence plan in 2023. The plan, designed for a potential Russian attack, suggested that in the event of a Moscow-led invasion, Poland would have to retreat to the country's longest river, the Vistula.
Blaszczak, who declassified the documents while serving as Defence Minister, used the disclosure during the 2023 election campaign to accuse the then in opposition Civic Platform (PO) of planning to defend Poland along the Vistula, alleging that this strategy would effectively surrender half the country.
According to prosecutors, by revealing the classified defence plan, Blaszczak violated Polish law. Although the documents were stored in the Military Historical Office, they remained subject to statutory protection for classified information.(PAP)
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