The District Court for the capital approved a two-month pre-trial detention order for 41-year-old Yevheniy I. and 39-year-old Oleksandr K., prosecutor Artur Kaznowski of the National Prosecutor’s Office said.
Both suspects have fled to Belarus. The court found a strong likelihood they committed the alleged offenses and cited the risk of flight, hiding and tampering with evidence, Kaznowski said.
Prosecutors accuse the two men of carrying out sabotage of a terrorist nature on behalf of the Russian Federation’s intelligence services against Poland. The charges concern damage to railway infrastructure on line No. 7 between Warsaw and Dorohusk, near the Ukrainian border.
One incident involved damage to tracks using an explosive device near the village of Mika in Mazowieckie province. In another, near Puławy in the village of Gołąb, part of the overhead traction network was damaged, and metal elements were fixed to the track that could have caused a derailment.
Kaznowski said that once the court’s written decision arrives, prosecutors will issue a wanted notice for the suspects and ask the court to authorize a European arrest warrant. A request for an Interpol red notice is also being considered.
Prosecutors have also charged Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr B. with aiding the sabotage by driving Yevheniy I. to the area to scout locations and prepare the operation. A court has ordered him held in custody for three months.
Four other people were previously detained in the case. Three were released, while one person was charged with concealing documents; a request for that suspect’s temporary arrest was rejected by the court.
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Source: PAP