The new coalition government accused PiS, when it was in government, of purchasing Pegasus from the Israeli firm NSO to spy on people linked with the then opposition. The government has cited reports from Citizen Lab, a specialized unit at the University of Toronto, phone maker Apple, and Amnesty International.

The spyware can hack into smartphones in order to harvest information and eavesdrop on conversations.

On Friday, Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, who is also prosecutor general, said that later in the day letters would be sent out to about 30 people to inform them that their phones had been hacked by Pegasus spyware.

“These letters will actually be sent today. People... will be notified that they have the status of a witness in the probe conducted by the Masovian Branch Department for Organised Crime [of the National Prosecutor’s Office - TVP World],” he said.

Bodnar said that “in the first stage,” letters would be sent to a group of around 30 people of various professions “but the scale is obviously much larger.”

He also said that next week he would present a report to parliament on the use of operational control and Pegasus by the special services.

“And then the full, comprehensive numbers will be revealed on how often Pegasus was used in Poland,” Bodnar added.