The Polish government spokesman, Stanislaw Zaryn, confirmed this Friday to the Polish press agency Pap the arrest of Spanish journalist Pablo Gonzálezto which accused of spying for Russia. “The man was identified as an agent of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation (GRU),” Zaryn said, speaking to that medium.
The statement adds that González “conducted activities for Russia while taking advantage of his journalistic status. This allowed him to move freely throughout Europe and (other countries in) the world, including areas affected by armed conflict and areas of political tension.”
Zaryn concluded that “the detainee stayed for several days in the Subkarpatia Voivodeship (province of eastern Poland)”, without confirming previous information that the exact place where he was was the city of Rzeszów (east).
The Polish authorities always so respectful of Union law and the presumption of initiation guaranteed in Directive 343/2016https://t.co/Rv2Hiz5nTe
– Gonzalo Boye (@boye_g) March 4, 2022
“During his stay in Poland, (the journalist) obtained information, the use of which by the Russian secret services could have a direct negative impact in the internal and external security and defense of our country,” the spokesman said. “Extensive evidence has been obtained with the detaineewhich is currently undergoing detailed analysis,” Żaryn also noted.
As Efe was able to verify, Pablo González was at the Przemysl train station (east) on the afternoon of February 26, the day before his arrest in a hotel in that city, and not in Rzeszów, as other sources assure. The requests for information by Efe to the local police of Przemysl and Rzeszów, as well as the Subcarpathian regional police, have not received a response.
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In an official statement, the Subcarpathian regional command said this Friday that “on March 1, the Rzeszów command formally accused the detainee of espionage and that, at the request of the prosecutor and “due to the need to guarantee the proper development of the process, the fear of flight and fraud”, the court decided to maintain the arrest for three months in prison of Pablo González.
The crime of espionage is punishable in Poland with between one and 10 years in prison.