As many as 578 people were apparently subject to surveillance in the years 2017-2022, according to Poland’s prosecutor general and justice minister.

Pegasus, an electronic surveillance system made by Israeli firm NSO, can hack into smartphones in order to harvest information and eavesdrop on conversations.

Adam Bodnar told reporters in Kielce, a city in southern Poland, on Tuesday that 31 persons, who had been subject to surveillance by Pegasus spyware, had already been called to testify.

“These people will decide whether they want to reveal that they were subject to surveillance by Pegasus or not,” Bodnar said, adding that their right to respect private life should be observed.

“It is them who are to take this decision, and not politicians in their name,” Bodnar continued, adding that this was a difference for which his camp had been fighting on October 15 [the date on which the Polish general elections were held -TVP World].

Bodnar added that a report concerning the issue would probably be presented during the next sitting of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament.

The new coalition government accused the former ruling party, the socially-conservative PiS of purchasing Pegasus during its eight years in power and using it to spy on people linked with the then opposition. To support their claims, the government has cited reports from Citizen Lab, a specialized unit at the University of Toronto, phone maker Apple, and Amnesty International.