A Polish court sentenced former Open Russia coordinator Igor Rogov to seven years in prison for espionage, independent media reported. His wife Irina received a three-year term. Both were found guilty of working for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
The trial was held behind closed doors. According to the outlets "Vot Tak" and Onet, Rogov was convicted of espionage and involvement in sending a parcel containing an explosive device. Irina Rogova was convicted of aiding and abetting espionage.
Because the couple had been held in pretrial detention, Igor Rogov is expected to be released in five years and his wife in 18 months, "Vot Tak" calculated. In Poland, one day in pretrial detention counts as one day in prison. Igor Rogov was detained in July 2024, Irina in December of the same year.
According to the prosecution, from February to August 2022, Rogov collected information for the FSB about Russian opposition figures living in Poland, as well as about people and organizations that assist them. He allegedly passed the data to his wife, who forwarded it to Russia.
As "Vot Tak" reported, citing the indictment, Rogov himself disclosed his work for the FSB, which began before he emigrated. The document does not state that investigators had evidence linking the activist to the Russian intelligence service. Wirtualna Polska reported that after the war began, FSB officers threatened the activist, promising to send his father to fight in Ukraine.
Irina Rogova, according to the prosecutor's office, knew about her husband's cooperation with the intelligence service but did not plead guilty to ties with the FSB.
In a separate episode, Igor Rogov was accused of participating, along with two Ukrainian citizens and one Russian citizen, in sending a parcel containing explosives. The parcel was seized at a courier service warehouse in the Łódź Voivodeship before it could be delivered. According to "Vot Tak," Rogov likely took part in an operation by Ukrainian intelligence that, via Poland but without Polish authorities' knowledge, was shipping explosive components to Russia.