WARSAW: A Polish court on Friday jailed two Russian men for more than five years each under espionage laws for distributing alleged propaganda for the now-disbanded Wagner mercenary group.
The pair, identified by Polish counter-intelligence as Alexei T. and Andrei G., were detained in August 2023 for distributing stickers in Warsaw and Krakow for Russia’s once-powerful mercenary group.
Also on Friday, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on X that a Russian suspected of sabotage against Poland and its allies had been arrested.
The Russian, “suspected of coordinating sabotage acts against Poland, the United States and other allies, and who was hiding in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been deported to Poland and placed under arrest,” Tusk said.
Poland’s Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak wrote on X that the arrest was “a major blow for the Russian sabotage network in Europe.”
The stickers posted by the two sentenced Russians bore the Wagner logo, a slogan in English saying “We are here. Join us,” and a QR code directing people to a Russian website about the mercenary group.
Poland’s counter-intelligence agency said at the time: “The Russians had on them more than 3,000 propaganda leaflets promoting the Wagner group.”
“These activities were an element of the hybrid warfare aimed at our country,” judge Ewa Karp-Sieklucka said Friday, media in Krakow, where the trial was held, reported.
They were sentenced to five years and six months in jail.
While they did not deny distributing the stickers, they pleaded not guilty, arguing they had not been aware they were taking part in a recruitment campaign.
Poland’s historically strained relations with neighboring Russia have dipped to new lows over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Almost three years into the war, Poland remains a staunch ally of Kyiv. It has become a major logistics hub for military equipment the West has been transferring to the war-torn country.
Warsaw officials have frequently blamed Russia for orchestrating sabotage attempts on its soil, which they say are aimed at destabilising the EU member.
In one of its largest espionage trials, Poland in 2023 convicted 14 citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine of preparing sabotage on behalf of Moscow as part of a spy ring.
They were sentenced for preparing to derail trains carrying aid to Ukraine, and monitoring military facilities and critical infrastructure.
In October, Poland ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Poznan, western Poland, over “the hybrid war” it accused Moscow of waging.
Poland jails Russians over Wagner sticker ‘propaganda’
https://arab.news/76mww
Poland jails Russians over Wagner sticker ‘propaganda’
- Poland’s Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak wrote on X that the arrest was “a major blow for the Russian sabotage network in Europe“
- The stickers posted by the two sentenced Russians bore the Wagner logo, a slogan in English saying “We are here. Join us“
Israel defends Somaliland move at UN amid concerns over Gaza motives
- Some states question if recognition part of a bid to relocate Palestinians or establish military bases
- US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza states: "No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return"
- US accuses Security Council of double standards after Western countries recognized Palestinian state
UNITED NATIONS: Israel defended on Monday its formal recognition of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, but several countries at the United Nations questioned whether the move aimed to relocate Palestinians from Gaza or to establish military bases.
Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state on Friday.
The 22-member Arab League, a regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East and parts of Africa, rejects “any measures arising from this illegitimate recognition aimed at facilitating forced displacement of the Palestinian people or exploiting northern Somali ports to establish military bases,” Arab League UN Ambassador Maged Abdelfattah Abdelaziz told the UN Security Council.
“Against the backdrop of Israel’s previous references to Somaliland of the Federal Republic of Somalia as a destination for the deportation of Palestinian people, especially from Gaza, its unlawful recognition of Somaliland region of Somalia is deeply troubling,” Pakistan’s Deputy UN Ambassador Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon told the council.
Israel’s UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the remarks or address any of them in its statement at the council meeting. In March, the foreign ministers of Somalia and Somaliland said they had not received any proposal to resettle Palestinians from Gaza.
US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza states: “No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return.”
Israel’s coalition government, the most right-wing and religiously conservative in its history, includes far-right politicians who advocate the annexation of both Gaza and the West Bank and encouraging Palestinians to leave their homeland.
Somalia’s UN Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman said council members Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone and Somalia “unequivocally reject any steps aimed at advancing this objective, including any attempt by Israel to relocate the Palestinian population from Gaza to the northwestern region of Somalia.”
SOMALILAND VS PALESTINIAN STATE
Somaliland has enjoyed effective autonomy — and relative peace and stability — since 1991 when Somalia descended into civil war, but the breakaway region has failed to receive recognition from any other country.
“It is not a hostile step toward Somalia, nor does it preclude future dialogue between the parties. Recognition is not an act of defiance. It is an opportunity,” Israel’s Deputy UN Ambassador Jonathan Miller told the council.
In September, several Western states, including France, Britain, Canada and Australia announced they would recognize a Palestinian state, joining more than three-quarters of the 193 UN members who already do so.
Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Tammy Bruce said: “This council’s persistent double standards and misdirection of focus distract from its mission of maintaining international peace and security.”
Slovenia’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar disputed her argument, saying: “Palestine is not part of any state. It is illegally occupied territory ... Palestine is also an observer state in this organization.”
He added: “Somaliland, on the other hand, is a part of a UN member state and recognizing it goes against ... the UN Charter.”
Israel said last week that it would seek immediate cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology and the economy. The former British protectorate hopes Israeli recognition will encourage other nations to follow suit, increasing its diplomatic heft and access to global markets.
