Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, has spoken over the phone with Felix Tshiseked, his counterpart in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), about a Pole who has been sentenced by a Congolese court to life for espionage, Duda’s aide has said.
The Polish news service Interia reported that on March 23, Mariusz Majewski, a Polish traveler, appeared before a military tribunal in the DRC and was charged with sabotage and destruction of installations of the Congolese Armed Forces.
According to investigators, he allegedly “approached the front line with the Mobondo militia, moved along the front line without authorization from the relevant authorities and without the company of qualified agents, took photos of sensitive and strategic places, and secretly observed military activities.”
The Mobondo is a militia group linked to a number of attacks that have left many civilians dead.
The Polish Foreign Ministry later reported that the 52-year old Pole had received a life sentence.
Wojciech Kolarski, a secretary of state in President Duda’s office, told the private radio broadcaster RMF FM on Monday that “on Friday there was a phone conversation between the Polish president and the Congolese president on the matter.”
“It is the duty of the head of the Polish state to take care of the life and health of Polish citizens who are in such difficult situations,” he also said, adding that the President’s Office and the Polish Foreign Ministry (MFA) were cooperating on the matter.
On Friday, a ministry’s spokesman said during a press briefing that Majewski “is not a spy, but a man who belongs to a travelers’ club… he pursues his passions… and his behavior resulted from ignorance of local customs.”
‘We hope that very soon this very harsh and drastic ruling will be changed,” he said.
The spokesman also said that deputy foreign ministers Andrzej Szejna and Henryka Mościcka-Dendys, had already contacted representatives of the DRC authorities.
“We are aware of the very difficult political situation in the DRC, the ongoing civil war there, and the recent coup attempt. However, we hope that justice will prevail in this matter and Mariusz Majewski will not be embroiled in a situation that is beyond his control,” he added.
According to investigators, he allegedly “approached the front line with the Mobondo militia, moved along the front line without authorization from the relevant authorities and without the company of qualified agents, took photos of sensitive and strategic places, and secretly observed military activities.”
The Mobondo is a militia group linked to a number of attacks that have left many civilians dead.
The Polish Foreign Ministry later reported that the 52-year old Pole had received a life sentence.
Wojciech Kolarski, a secretary of state in President Duda’s office, told the private radio broadcaster RMF FM on Monday that “on Friday there was a phone conversation between the Polish president and the Congolese president on the matter.”
“It is the duty of the head of the Polish state to take care of the life and health of Polish citizens who are in such difficult situations,” he also said, adding that the President’s Office and the Polish Foreign Ministry (MFA) were cooperating on the matter.
On Friday, a ministry’s spokesman said during a press briefing that Majewski “is not a spy, but a man who belongs to a travelers’ club… he pursues his passions… and his behavior resulted from ignorance of local customs.”
‘We hope that very soon this very harsh and drastic ruling will be changed,” he said.
The spokesman also said that deputy foreign ministers Andrzej Szejna and Henryka Mościcka-Dendys, had already contacted representatives of the DRC authorities.
“We are aware of the very difficult political situation in the DRC, the ongoing civil war there, and the recent coup attempt. However, we hope that justice will prevail in this matter and Mariusz Majewski will not be embroiled in a situation that is beyond his control,” he added.
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