Dykeward
February 5th, 2005, 05:22 AM
Poland in uproar over leak of spy files
AP in Warsaw
Saturday February 5, 2005
The Guardian
Prosecutors in Warsaw are to investigate the leak of communist-era files on to the internet which has unleashed a frenzy among Poles scrambling to find their names or those of people they know.
The alphabetical list of 240,000 people from the state-run Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw includes former secret agents, informers, secret service employees and victims of persecution, but it does not indicate who is which.
This has sparked a political debate over whether the leak will finally purge Poland of communist-era collaborators, or irreparably damage innocent people's lives.
"Finding oneself on this list does not mean anything, but in a broad sense it could place someone in a situation of suspicion," wrote Father Adam Boniecki of the Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny.
A journalist, Bronislaw Wildstein, has admitted copying the list from the archives of the institute and has been sacked from his paper, Rzeczpospolita, but he denies posting the list on the internet, saying he gave it only to a few trusted colleagues.
"National prosecutors believe that the case has so many unclear aspects that may suggest a crime has been committed that we have made the decision to clarify it," the deputy national prosecutor, Kazimierz Olejnik, said yesterday.
The investigation may focus on laws protecting personal data, which carry a two-year prison term, a spokesman added. Prosecutors are also investigating whether someone at the institute helped Mr Wildstein copy the list, which was available only to researchers and others cleared for access.
Hundreds of people who found their name, or what appeared to be their name, on the list are crowding the institute's offices to apply to look in their files.
The institute has promised to speed up the issuing of documents for those who feel wronged after finding their names on the list.
The prime minister, Marek Belka, has said he will support the institute's request for additional funds to cope with the increased applications
Cryptome gives a link to a website that holds the lists:
http://www.listawildsteina.com/
AP in Warsaw
Saturday February 5, 2005
The Guardian
Prosecutors in Warsaw are to investigate the leak of communist-era files on to the internet which has unleashed a frenzy among Poles scrambling to find their names or those of people they know.
The alphabetical list of 240,000 people from the state-run Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw includes former secret agents, informers, secret service employees and victims of persecution, but it does not indicate who is which.
This has sparked a political debate over whether the leak will finally purge Poland of communist-era collaborators, or irreparably damage innocent people's lives.
"Finding oneself on this list does not mean anything, but in a broad sense it could place someone in a situation of suspicion," wrote Father Adam Boniecki of the Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny.
A journalist, Bronislaw Wildstein, has admitted copying the list from the archives of the institute and has been sacked from his paper, Rzeczpospolita, but he denies posting the list on the internet, saying he gave it only to a few trusted colleagues.
"National prosecutors believe that the case has so many unclear aspects that may suggest a crime has been committed that we have made the decision to clarify it," the deputy national prosecutor, Kazimierz Olejnik, said yesterday.
The investigation may focus on laws protecting personal data, which carry a two-year prison term, a spokesman added. Prosecutors are also investigating whether someone at the institute helped Mr Wildstein copy the list, which was available only to researchers and others cleared for access.
Hundreds of people who found their name, or what appeared to be their name, on the list are crowding the institute's offices to apply to look in their files.
The institute has promised to speed up the issuing of documents for those who feel wronged after finding their names on the list.
The prime minister, Marek Belka, has said he will support the institute's request for additional funds to cope with the increased applications
Cryptome gives a link to a website that holds the lists:
http://www.listawildsteina.com/