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Russia Sentences Polish National to 14 Years for Espionage

Sergei Fadeichev / TASS

A court in Moscow has sentenced a Polish national to 14 years behind bars on charges of espionage, Russian media have reported.

Marian Radzajewski, 42, has reportedly been held in custody in Russia since April 2018. Security officials said they had caught him “in the attempt of making a deal” to allegedly smuggle secret parts of Russia’s S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Poland.

The Moscow City Court handed Radzajewski a 14-year sentence in maximum-security prison during a closed trial that began on June 10, Interfax reported Tuesday. 

Radzajewski’s attorney Yulia Sorina said the defense plans to appeal his sentence.

Investigators believe Radzajewski “acted in the interests of a Polish organization that is a leading supplier of the country’s armed forces and security services,” Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) was cited as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.

Earlier this year, Russia sentenced Norwegian citizen Frode Berg to 14 years in prison for espionage. Another foreign national, former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, is currently on trial on the same charges.

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