2024-09-26 19:23 update: 2024-09-28, 14:46
Photo PAP/Wojtek Jargilo
A Polish court on Thursday sentenced a citizen of Belarus, Uladzislau P. and the Ukrainian Maksym L. to prison and a fine for participating in an organised crime group that spied for Russia.
The investigation found that 30-year-old Uladzislau P. and 23-year-old Maksym L. operated in the crime group from January to March 2023. They installed image recording devices at important cross-border railway lines used to transport military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The group was also tasked with monitoring seaports in Gdynia and Gdansk, as well as the railway station in Rzeszow and the airport in Jasionka in southeastern Poland.
On Thursday, the Regional court in Lublin sentenced Maksym L. to six years in prison and a fine of PLN 15,000 (EUR 3,500). Uladzislau P. was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison and a fine of PLN 10,000 (EUR 2,338). The defendants must also pay PLN 5,000 (EUR 1,169) each to a fund supporting victims of crime
Justifying the non-final ruling, Judge Miroslaw Brzozowski said that the defendants' participation in an organised crime group acting against the interests of the Republic of Poland and espionage for the Russian Federation was beyond doubt.
"It was an organised crime group led by an unidentified man calling himself Andriy, whose goal was to collect espionage information that was used to determine what type and amount of aid was being provided to Ukraine," he said.
The court also ordered the confiscation of funds obtained as a result of criminal activity, PLN 20,500 (EUR 4,792) in the case of
Maksym L., and PLN 8,200 (EUR 1,916) for Uladzislau P.
The court counted the time the defendants spent under temporary arrest from March 2023 to September 2024 towards their sentence. Due to the severity of the sentence, the lack of permanent residence in Poland and the fear they may flee the country, the court decided that both would remain in custody. The defendants and their defence attorneys did not appear at the announcement of the ruling.
The investigation conducted by Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) under the supervision of the Lublin Branch of the National Prosecutor's Office found that a total of 16 citizens of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia operated as part of a foreign intelligence agency - the Fifth Service of Operational Information and International Relations of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), acting against Poland, from at least January 2023 to June 2023. The group operated across Poland, including in Biala Podlaska, Chelm, Medyka, Przemysl, Rzeszow and Gdansk. The suspects, including Maksym L. and Uladzislau P., were detained in various locations in Poland between March 3 and August 1, 2023.
The prosecutors said in the indictment that members of the group contacted a man introducing himself as Andriy, Andrzej or Gabriel K., via the Telegram Messenger service, as well as other people using several different nicknames Barbados, Pink, Mara and Secret Chat.
"Andriy, who led the group's activities, planned to derail a train carrying military transport in Poland and Ukraine. For this purpose, he was looking for people among the group members and outside of the group who would carry out this task for a remuneration of USD 10,000," the prosecutor's office wrote.
Individual members of the group were involved in purchasing parts for cameras, purchasing and registering SIM cards, conducting surveillance and video recording of selected objects of critical infrastructure, including military facilities and seaports, installing GPS transmitters on trains, recruiting new members, transferring remuneration, and disinformation activities.
For completing specific tasks, the investigation showed, they received payments in cryptocurrencies ranging from USD 5 for posting a leaflet, to USD 300-400 for installing a camera, to USD 10,000 for attempting to derail a train.
In November 2023, 14 other members of the group voluntarily submitted to punishment and received sentences ranging from one year and one month to six years in prison. The court also imposed fines from PLN 1,000 (EUR 234) to 20,000 (EUR 4,680) and ordered the confiscation of funds obtained as a result of crime. (PAP)
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