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DISCUSSION: Eavesdropping on citizens

DISCUSSION: Eavesdropping on citizens

Back to DISCUSSION: Eavesdropping on citizens

Guests at the:"Eavesdropping on citizens" will be: Anna Błaszczak-Banasiak - Director General of Amnesty International Poland, Dorota Brejza - Lawyer, Zbigniew Lewczyk - Judge, representative of the Iustitia Association and Dr Patryk Tomaszewski - from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.

The discussion will be followed by a screening of the film 'Pegasus. The spy in my phone".
More information about the film below:

What is Pegasus really, who is using it and why? Can't anyone feel safe using a smartphone these days?

In July 2021, the world heard for the first time about Pegasus - Israeli surveillance software. Thanks to an unprecedented data leak, an international investigation led by Forbidden Stories revealed the existence of more than 50,000 potential victims of Pegasus, a sophisticated spying tool developed by the Israeli company NSO Group. Among the victims were journalists, human rights activists, lawyers, politicians, scientists, and businessmen. The journalists covering the case reconstruct the subsequent steps leading to the disclosure of the results of the investigation and expose the authoritarian actions of the authorities, the violations of citizens' privacy and their consequences. Among other things, Pegasus was (and is) used to fight the opposition, uncover journalistic sources and learn about the plans of activists. In Poland, the names of specific individuals who were spied on using Pegasus have been revealed. 

Free admission
17.04.2024Wed18:00

Guests:

Anna Blaszczak-Banasiak - lawyer, advocate, activist and specialist in anti-discrimination law. Involved in human rights advocacy for over 15 years. She worked in the European Parliament and before that for 14 years in the Office of the Ombudsman, where she was, among other things, Director of the Equal Treatment Team. She is currently the Director General of Amnesty International Poland.

Dorota Brejza - advocate, runs her own advocacy office. She completed her studies at the University of Warsaw with honours and obtained a degree at the Institute of Sociology of the University of Warsaw. She completed her apprenticeship at the District Bar Council in Bydgoszcz. Judge of the Court of Arbitration at the ORA in Bydgoszcz. In the ranking of Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, she was recognised as the most influential female lawyer of 2023. On a daily basis, she works in the area of family, civil and criminal cases. She conducts many proceedings related to the illegal use of Pegasus spyware.

Zbigniew Lewczyk - born on 22 December 1967. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. After completing judicial training, he passed the exam and took the position of an assessor at the District Court in Wąbrzeźno. He received his judicial nomination in 1999. In 2013, he received a judicial nomination at the District Court in Toruń. He adjudicates criminal cases, both in the District Court in Wąbrzeźno and in the Regional Court in Toruń. For nine years, he served as Division Chairman and currently also adjudicates in the Court of Appeal in Gdańsk, in the Disciplinary Court. He has taken part in the work of election commissions on many occasions. He has been a member of the Iusticia association since the establishment of its branch in Toruń.

Dr Patryk Tomaszewski - a research fellow at the Department of Political Thought, Faculty of Political Science and Security, Nicolaus Copernicus University. His research interests include international security issues and counter-terrorism.