Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego

The Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego (ABW; English: Internal Security Agency, ISA) is Poland's domestic intelligence agency. The ABW is responsible for analyzing, reporting and preventing threats to Poland's internal security, including terrorism, foreign espionage, arms smuggling, drug trafficking, organized crime, corruption and economic coercion. Its powers include arresting individuals, conducting searches and investigations, and combating terrorism with a specialized armed anti-terrorist force.

The ABW is headquartered on ul. Rakowiecka in the Mokotów district of Warsaw. As part of its institutional hierarchy, the Head of the ABW reports directly to the Prime 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. The ABW is considered by the government of Poland as one of the nation's special services.

History

The ABW was created under the premiership of Leszek Miller on 24 May 2002, following the Council of Ministers' submission of its legislation on the Internal Security Agency and Foreign Intelligence Agency bill to the Sejm for approval. The legislation effectively split the previous national intelligence service, the Urząd Ochrony Państwa (UOP), into two separate components: the Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego (ABW), responsible for domestic intelligence operations, and the Agencja Wywiadu (AW), dedicated to gathering and analyzing foreign intelligence outside of Poland.

ABW

ABW may refer to:

Zbigniew Stonoga

Zbigniew Stonoga (pronounced [ˈzbiɡɲɛf stɔˈnɔɡa]; born 17 October 1974 in Ozimek) is a Polish entrepreneur, known for the publication of the investigation files concerning the Polish bugging scandal (2014–2015), known as Waitergate and anti-government activity. In the wake of he publication of the files the reshuffles in the cabinet of Ewa Kopacz followed. Founder of Stonoga Party Poland. Notified to the register of political parties led by Section VII Civil Registration District Court in Warsaw. The founder of Gazeta Stonoga.

Biography

Education and professional work

Electro-technical school graduate, did not finish law at the University of Warsaw.

Lawsuits

In 2000s Stonoga was accused in 89 lawsuits in 89 localities. In 2004 he was sentenced to 3.5 years imprisonment for credit card debt of less than PLN 20 000 (USD 7 000) by the District Court for the Capital City Warsaw, as in the opinion of the court he acted in terms of recidivism (Judgment 7K305 / 01). In 2005 Stonoga was exonerated, but spent additional 4 months in prison as the relevant judiciary officials forgot to deliver the decision to release him from prison. On the last day of his imprisonment he was visited by his 72 y. o. mother, who has undergone brutal strip search and died of heart attack. By 2015, Stonoga has been exonerated from 116 criminal charges.