Poland jails former Russian opposition activist, his wife for spying

A Polish court on July 9 sentenced a former Russian opposition activist and his wife to prison terms after finding them guilty of spying for Russia and involvement in arranging the transport of a parcel containing explosives.

According to court documents, Russian citizen Igor R., identified by Russian media as Igor Rogov, was sentenced to seven years in prison, while his wife Irina received a three-year sentence, Caliber.Az reports, citing Euronews.

The couple, who had been living in Poland since 2022 following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, were convicted in the southern city of Katowice.

Polish authorities accused Rogov of working for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), alleging that he collected information on Russian opposition figures and organizations supporting them.

According to the court, Rogov gathered intelligence between February and August 2022 and transferred the information through an encrypted device to his wife, who was allegedly responsible for passing it on to Russian intelligence operatives.

The proceedings were held behind closed doors due to national security concerns, Polish authorities said.

The pair have remained in custody since their arrest two years ago.

Prosecutors also alleged that in July 2024 Rogov, together with two Ukrainian nationals and another Russian citizen, organized the shipment and collection of a parcel containing explosives through a courier service.

According to investigators, the package was intercepted by Polish security services at a warehouse in the Łódź region before it could reach its destination.

Prior to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Rogov was active in opposition politics in the Russian city of Saransk and worked with organizations linked to late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny from 2017.

He later became involved with the opposition movement Open Russia, founded by exiled businessman and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov