| Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego | |
 Logo of the Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego (ABW) | |
 ABW headquarters at 2a Rakowiecka Street inWarsaw | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 29 June 2002 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Poland |
| Headquarters | Warsaw,Poland |
| Annual budget | 710,356,000 zł (2023) |
| Ministers responsible |
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| Agency executives | |
| Website | www |
TheInternal Security Agency (ISA orABW;Polish:Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego) isPoland's domesticcounterintelligence andsecurity agency.[2] The ABW is responsible for analyzing, reporting and preventing threats to Poland'sinternal security, includingterrorism, foreignespionage,arms smuggling,drug trafficking,organized crime,corruption andeconomic coercion.[3] Its powers include arresting individuals, conducting searches and investigations, and combating terrorism with a specialized armed anti-terrorist force.[4]
The ABW is headquartered on ul. Rakowiecka in theMokotów district ofWarsaw. As part of its institutional hierarchy, the Head of the ABW reports directly to thePrime Minister of Poland, who in turn provides oversight of the ABW, or can appoint a special minister to coordinate intelligence and security activities for oversight.[5]: 16 The ABW is considered by thegovernment of Poland to be one of the nation's special services.
The ABW was created under the premiership ofLeszek Miller on 24 May 2002, following theCouncil of Ministers' submission of its legislation on the Internal Security Agency and Foreign Intelligence Agency bill to theSejm for approval.[6] The legislation effectively split the previous nationalintelligence service, theUrząd Ochrony Państwa (UOP), into two separate components: the Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego (ABW), responsible for domestic intelligence operations, and theAgencja Wywiadu (AW), dedicated to gathering and analyzing foreign intelligence outsidePoland.[6]
In accordance to Article 5 of the 2002 Internal Security Agency and Foreign Intelligence Agency Law, the ABW is tasked to protect Polish citizens, property and the state in a number of fields. These operations include domesticcounter-intelligence activities, ensuringeconomic security,counter-terrorism andweapons proliferation, combatingorganized crime, securing stateclassified information, and protecting Polishcyberspace operations.[5]: 7 According to law, ABW investigations must be preceded by awarrant issued from aregional court after a submitted request from the ABW's Head.[5]: 8 The ABW works closely with other security apparatuses in counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism operations to pool data, including theAgencja Wywiadu, thePolicja, theStraż Graniczna and theBiuro Ochrony Rządu.[5]: 18
The ABW also monitorscorruption among state agencies and officials. According to its 2009 report, the ABW monitored 82 state enterprises undergoingprivatization, as well as monitored the flow ofEuropean Union funds to Polish coffers.[5]: 26–27 Ministries of state have been subject to investigations from the ABW for financial irregularities, including the ministries forFinance,National Defence,Environment,Justice,Interior and Administration, andGDDKiA.[5]: 26
Among the agency's powers, the ABW reserves the right to arrest individuals, search individuals and premises, inspect cargo from land, water and air transport, and request assistance from other Polish security services and government bodies.[4]
The ABW's central operations center is located in theMokotów borough ofWarsaw along ul. Rakowiecka, standing in proximity toMokotów Prison and theMinistry of Interior and Administration. The agency's training center is located in the village ofEmów, 21 km (13 mi) east ofWarsaw inMasovian Voivodeship.[7] The ABW maintains offices in nearly all ofPoland's major cities, includingBiałystok,Bydgoszcz,Gdańsk,Katowice,Kraków,Lublin,Łódź,Olsztyn,Opole,Poznań,Radom,Rzeszów,Szczecin,Warsaw,Wrocław andZielona Góra. Additionally, the ABW maintains international liaison offices within Polish diplomatic missions inBerlin,Brussels,Kyiv,London,Moscow andPrague.[5]: 14
Internationally, the ABW works closely with the intelligence and security agencies of fellowNATO andEuropean Union member states, as well as outside states includingAfghanistan,Israel,Kazakhstan andMontenegro.[5]: 12–13 The ABW also worked closely with theSecurity Service of Ukraine in preparation for theUEFA Euro 2012 over the coordination of security plans.[5]
The ABW is involved in investigating thePolish railway cyberattack.[8]
The activities of the ABW, along with the other special services (including theAW and theCBA) are provided oversight by thePrime Minister of Poland directly, or through a specially appointed minister working within theChancellery.[5]: 16 The Head of the ABW reports to the prime minister regarding security matters of concern.[5]: 16 The prime minister also retains the right to propose candidates to lead the ABW; nominated individuals are then subject to the opinion of thePresident of Poland.[5]: 16 The president also reserves the right to receive information from the ABW Head regarding security concerns.
A Committee of Special Services under theCouncil of Ministers within the Chancellery retains responsibility for planning, coordinating and overseeing the activities of the ABW and all other special services.[5]: 16 The agency's legal activities are tied to thePublic Prosecutor General, who is regularly informed by the ABW's Head of the agency's course of actions.[5]: 17 Additionally, the Special Services Committee within theSejm evaluates the performance of the agency, giving opinions on budgetary concerns, investigations and cooperation among the special services.[5]: 17
In the aftermath of the2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash, killing PresidentLech Kaczyński and other senior members of thearmed forces and government, members of theLaw and Justice party alleged that leaked memos showed the agency had spied on the late president andFirst LadyMaria Kaczyńska during a state visit toGeorgia in 2008.[9]
In May 2011, the ABW conducted a dawn raid on the home of Robert Frycz, the owner of AntyKomor.pl, a satirical website critical of Polish presidentBronisław Komorowski, citing that the website was in breach of Article 135 of thePolish Penal Code for insulting the president.[10] In response to opposition allegations of stifling free speech, Prime MinisterDonald Tusk stated afterward that the agency was a victim of the penal code's legal vagueness.[11] Later, Prime Minister Tusk criticized the agency for acting "overzealous."[12]
Marcin Idzik, who served as the CEO in the years 2013-2015 of the state-owned arms firm Bumar (since renamedPolski Holding Obronny-Polish Defense Holding) has alleged that in 2013 he asked for an investigation by the ABW of a former Bumar sales agentPierre Dadak on suspicions of fraud.[13] Dadak has been very closely associated withKrzysztof Wegrzyn, a wealthy businessman and former deputy defense minister, generally regarded as a member of the elite.[13] Idzik claims that the ABW were unwilling to investigate Dadak, leading him to say: "I was the chief of the biggest Polish defense company and somebody wheedled money. For me, [is it] strange? Yeah, 400 percent."[13] The ABW has refused to comment on the matter.[13]
In June 2014, the ABW conducted a raid on the editorial office of the news magazineWprost, afterWprost published stenographic records of private conversations between country officials implicating them in many unconstitutional acts and bribery.[14] The ABW used physical force against the publication's editor-in-chiefSylwester Latkowski in an attempt to illegally seize his laptop computer, after he refused to give it away without court warrant.[15]
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| National | |
