Polish court jails ex-Russian activist for FSB spying, sabotage

A Polish court has sentenced a former Russian opposition activist to seven years in prison for spying on dissidents living in exile, in a case that also exposed a plot to send explosives through European logistics networks. His wife received a three-year sentence for her role in passing intelligence to Moscow's FSB security service.

Igor R., identified by Russian media as Igor Rogov, was convicted in a closed-door trial in the southern city of Katowice. Citing national security, Warsaw kept the proceedings secret. The couple had been in detention since their arrest two years ago, having moved to Poland at the start of the war in Ukraine.

The court found that between February and August 2022, Rogov gathered information on Russian opposition members and their support networks in Poland. He transmitted the data via an encrypted device to his wife, who was tasked with transferring it to Russian intelligence officers.

The case extends beyond traditional espionage into physical sabotage on European soil. Prosecutors accused Rogov of working with two Ukrainians and another Russian to arrange the shipment of a parcel containing explosives via a commercial courier company in July 2024. Polish security services successfully intercepted the package at a warehouse in the Lodz region before it could be delivered.

Before his arrest, Rogov was a recognised figure within Russia's opposition movement. Based in the city of Saransk, he worked for the organisation of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny starting in 2017. He subsequently joined Open Russia, a group backed by the exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. According to Polish media, Rogov appeared at his sentencing holding a poster with slogans against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The conviction underscores the complex security challenges facing European countries that have become havens for Russian exiles. Warsaw has consistently warned of Russian sabotage acts targeting its territory since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The attempted use of commercial delivery services to move explosives demonstrates how hybrid warfare tactics directly intersect with everyday civilian infrastructure and corporate supply chains.