Polish official: alleged spies worked for Russia

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A high-ranking Polish army officer and a civilian put under arrest in Poland on espionage charges worked for Russian military intelligence, a Polish lawmaker said.

The two men were detained for questioning on Wednesday and have been put under arrest for three months while their cases are investigated further.

The media say that one of them is an army colonel and the other is a lawyer with Polish and Russian passports who had some access to lawmakers and to energy security issues.

Member of the parliamentary commission for the security services, Marek Biernacki, said late Friday that both worked for the Russian military intelligence.

Their cases are investigated separately by the military and by civilian prosecutors, who, however, refuse to divulge details.

Poland’s ties with neighbor Russia are at a low point after Warsaw condemned Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and Moscow’s role in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Poland is also taking efforts to decrease its 60-percent dependence on Russian gas imports.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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