Fourteen of them pleaded guilty but did not appear in court, so the verdict was announced in absentia. The other two alleged members of the spy ring will be tried separately after they withdraw their previous charges.
Russian spies were convicted in Poland
On 19 December, a Lublin court found 14 citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine guilty of preparing sabotage in favour of Moscow as part of a spy group.
This is reported by AFP.
In November, 16 people were charged with espionage, including preparations to blow up humanitarian aid trains to Ukraine, as well as surveillance of military and critical infrastructure facilities.
Fourteen of them pleaded guilty but did not appear in court, so the verdict was announced in absentia. The other two alleged members of the spy ring will be tried separately after they withdraw their previous charges.
Having considered the case... the court found all the defendants guilty of the crimes charged, and also found that some of them acted as part of an organised criminal group, said Judge Yaroslav Kovalsky, announcing the verdict.
Barbara Markowska, a spokeswoman for the Lublin court, told AFP that the members of the spy group were "Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians", without specifying who they were.
It is known that the convicts include Maksim S., a Russian hockey player for a Polish club from Sosnowiec, who was arrested in June, as well as, according to Polish media, "two Ukrainian lawyers and a political scientist, a French teacher, a pharmacist, and a software engineer".
According to the investigation, members of the group received tasks from Russian supervisors via Telegram and paid for them in cryptocurrency, ranging from $300 to about $10,000.
Trial of the Russia's spy network in Poland
The Lublin Division of the National Prosecutor's Office, together with the Department of Internal Security, submitted to the court an indictment against 16 people who were part of the Russian spy network.
The prosecutor accused the defendants of participating in an organised criminal group and acting for foreign intelligence against the interests of the Republic of Poland.
Due to the defendants' genuine fear of escape, up to 15 people were taken into custody at the request of the prosecutor.
The actions charged against the defendants are punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years.
The spies operated from January to March 2023 in Biala Podlaska, Chelm, Medyka, Przemysl, Rzeszow, Warsaw, as well as in other locations across the country, including Pomerania.
The defendants carried out activities related, in particular, to the reconnaissance of critical infrastructure, including military facilities and seaports, the prosecutor's office said.
Members of the spy network "informed customers about the results of the intelligence conducted, for which they received a reward". All of the defendants are foreigners originating from the eastern border of Poland.
Among other things, the suspects installed webcams on the routes of vehicles transporting Western military aid to Ukraine. They were also to install GPS tags on these vehicles.
According to the prosecutor's office, they were conducting anti-Polish propaganda and preparing sabotage.
They regularly passed on information to their handlers, who recruited them, including through social media.
