Poland’s Tusk calls secret services meeting to address judge’s defection to Belarus

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk says he is calling a special meeting of the secret services to discuss alleged Russian and Belarusian influence. The hastily organized meeting comes after a Polish judge who had access to sensitive state information defected to Belarus. Polish authorities are investigating the judge, Tomasz Szmydt, under suspicions that he was acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service. The Polish government said in a statement Tuesday that “Szmydt had constant and direct access to classified information. He has also been in contact with Belarusians for a long time. This situation should be of the utmost concern.” Tusk announced the meeting of the the Secret Services College for Wednesday.