Poland indicts two men in connection with spying for Belarus

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WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish prosecutors have indicted two men in a case concerning cooperation with Belarusian intelligence services, they said on Tuesday, one of a string of espionage cases in the NATO member state.

Warsaw says its role as a hub for supplies to Ukraine has made it a target for spies working for Russia and its ally Belarus, as well as for acts of sabotage. Minsk and Moscow have dismissed accusations that they are behind acts of sabotage.

A spokesperson for prosecutors in the southern Polish city of Lublin said in a statement an indictment had been filed against a 53-year-old Belarusian citizen named as Nikolay M. due to privacy laws, as well as a 59-year-old Polish citizen named as Bernard S.

In a separate statement Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) said it had detained the men in March 2023.

Nikolay M. has been charged with carrying out reconnaissance of a military airport in Biala Podlaska in eastern Poland, as well as collecting information on rail infrastructure, the movement of military equipment and the activities of Polish special services.

Bernard S. was charged with assisting the Belarusian by giving him a place of residence and organising his stay in Poland.

If found guilty they could face up to 10 years in prison.

The Belarusiaan embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Angus MacSwan)