Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) has detained a second man accused of helping a Russian spy network, amid a reported intensification of foreign intelligence activity in the country.
The suspect has been accused of working with a man arrested in May, who has since confessed to helping Russian intelligence by passing on information to serve activities “to the detriment” of Poland, reports TVP Info.
The latest suspect, named only as Radosław S. under Polish privacy law, has been accused of “supporting espionage activities for the Russian FSB intelligence [agency]” and “acting to the detriment” of the country, said security services spokesman Stanisław Żaryn.
The 66-year-old was detained by the ABW in his apartment in the northeastern province of Warmia-Mazury on Sunday. “Objects and documents were seized, which supplement the extensive evidence,” Żaryn told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
The man has denied the charges, which could carry up to ten years in prison. At the request of prosecutors, a court has granted three months of pre-trial detention.
The detained man is suspected of helping Marcin K., who was arrested in May on a similar suspicion of “participating in the activities of foreign intelligence against the Republic of Poland”. The 43-year-old has since confessed to helping Russia.
According to an earlier statement by Żaryn, Marcin K. passed on “information and materials in the field of the military”, as well as concerning “Polish entities and citizens”, to Russian security services to assist activities to “the detriment” of the country.
Polish services “do not rule out” further arrests of accomplices to Marcin K.
Coinciding with Marcin K.’s detention in May, prosecutors also disclosed information about the capture of two people who created a clandestine ICT network used for cyberattacks and disinformation activity in Poland. The arrests took place in late February and March but were kept secret.
The ABW has observed increased intelligence activity of the services of Russia and Belarus in Poland in recent months, reports TVP Info.
Over the past year, a number of senior politicians, including the prime minister’s chief of staff, have had their emails and social media accounts hacked. Polish officials have claimed that these attacks are linked to the Russian security services.
Main image credit: Dariusz Borowicz / Agencja Gazeta
Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.
