BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

13/10/2010

Belorusian spy to continue serving time in Poland

Imprisoned Belorusian spy Siergiej M.'s second request for parole has been rejected by a Warsaw court.

TVN 24 reports that, according to Polish judge Marcin Lochowski's verdict, the process of resocialization is going according to plan but must be continued.

"There is no reason to conclude that it is unlikely that he will commit crimes again," the judge stated.

The prisoner has already served four years out of a five-and-a-half year sentence in Poland after he was convicted for offering bribes in exchange for confidential information from the Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry's (MSZ).

Mr M.'s first application for parole was rejected in January this year. His lawyer, Magdalena Bentklowska, said he would reapply again in six months time.

The spy was sentenced in September 2009 after his trial, which itself began in June 2008.

In 2005, Mr M. requested information from Krzysztof G, who Mr M. believed to be Poland's consul in the Belarus capital Minsk, according to magazine Polityka, in exchange for money.

The Belorusian spy paid the Polish man $500 and EUR850 for a promise that he would receive the contact details of MSZ staff, the names of people who were to take diplomatic posts, details about the Ministry's offices and documents regarding Russia and Belarus.

However, Mr M. claims he is the innocent pray to the deliberate provocation of Mr G. who Polityka said was sent to the Polish consulate in Minsk as "bait" to catch Mr M. red-handed. Mr G., he says, was not actually the Polish consul there.

Mr M. declined his right to appeal his sentence, having served about half of his sentence by the end of his trial. He hoped instead he would be released on parole.

From Warsaw Business Journal by Victoria Ziarkowski

Source:

http://www.wbj.pl/article-51594-belorusian-spy-to-continue-serving-time-in-poland.html?typ=ise