Pole and Chinese national detained for spying - security agency
Piotr D., a Pole, and Wejing W., a Chinese national, (full names withheld under Polish law) were arrested by the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) on Tuesday and charged with spying.
The detentions were reported by Maciej Wąsik, deputy head of Poland's special services and Stanisław Żaryn, a spokesperson of the minister-coordinator of special services on Friday.
According to Wąsik, the two were arrested on Tuesday by officers of the country's Internal Security Agency and charged with espionage. They face up to 10 years in prison.
The spokesman said that detained Pole is an ex-security agent who recently worked for Orange Polska. The Chinese national was an employee of Chinese tech giant Huawei.
On Thursday evening, the Court in Warsaw decided to place both men under temporary arrest and detain them for three months.
In a Friday afternoon press release, the spokesman for Poland’s Minister-Special Services Coordinator wrote that after being detained, "both men heard charges of committing a crime defined in Article 130 of the Criminal Code punishable with jail term of up to 10 years. The investigation into the matter is being conducted by the ABW and supervised by the Warsaw-based Branch Division of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office’s Department for the Organized Crime and Corruption for the province of Mazowieckie."
"The evidence gathered by the National Security Agency shows that both men carried out an espionage activity against Poland. As part of the ongoing investigation, the officers of the Agency have taken the following necessary investigative steps: searches in the suspects’ places of residence and evidence preservation," the press release reads in part.
China’s foreign ministry expressed grave concerns over the incident and urged Poland to protect the lawful rights of the Chinese detainee.
Reacting to the situation, spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Maja Kocijancic said on Friday that the European Commission will remain in touch with Polish authorities over the arrest of the two men.
