Key facts
- A Russian couple, Igor and Irina R., were convicted of spying for Moscow in Poland.
- Igor R. was sentenced to seven years in prison, and his wife Irina received a three-year sentence.
- Igor R. was also convicted of organizing a parcel bomb plot involving explosives.
- The couple provided information on Russian opposition members and their supporters to Russia's FSB.
- Igor R. was an activist for anti-Kremlin groups like Open Russia and previously worked with Alexei Navalny's organization.
A Polish court has sentenced a former Russian opposition activist and his wife to prison for spying for Moscow. Igor Rogov received a seven-year sentence, while his wife Irina was jailed for three years. The court also found Rogov guilty of organizing a parcel containing explosives, which was intercepted by Polish security services.
According to court documents, Rogov, who was previously an activist for the anti-Kremlin group Open Russia and had worked for the organization of the late Alexei Navalny, spied for Russia's FSB security services between February and August 2022. He gathered information on Russian opposition members and their supporters, passing data to his wife who was to transfer it to Russian intelligence officers.
The couple, who have been in detention for two years, were living in Poland since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. The sentencing occurred in the southern city of Katowice following a closed-door trial citing national security reasons. Poland has been warning of potential Russian sabotage acts since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.