Poland secures release of avid traveller jailed for espionage in DR Congo

The Polish government said Tuesday that a Polish man sentenced to life prison for espionage in Democratic Republic of Congo had been released and was back in Europe.

Poland’s president intervened in the case of the 52-year-old detained in the central African nation, whom the foreign ministry described as an avid traveller.

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“Mariusz Majewski, the Pole wrongfully convicted and detained in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is now safe in Europe,” Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“This morning we finally got to talk,” he added, along with a video clip of the phone conversation.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski told reporters that Majewski was at Poland’s consulate in Brussels.

The foreign ministry announced on Friday that Majewski had been sentenced to life jail for espionage in the vast country long rocked by instability.

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Polish media reported that Majewski had been accused of taking photos of sensitive facilities, secretly observing military activities and approaching the DR Congo frontline its battle with militant groups.

The reports added that Majewski was a longtime traveller who had visited all 193 member states of the United Nations, including North Korea.

© Agence France-Presse