A court on Friday handed out a six-month suspended jail sentence to a Russian pilot who violated a no-fly ban during a visit by Pope Francis to Poland in 2016.

Amid tight security, Polish authorities scrambled two F16 fighter jets when they could not contact the Russian, who had been due to take part in world aerobatics championships in Poland. He had flown in from the neighbouring Czech Republic.

The Russian said he had not known that Pope Francis was visiting Poland for World Youth Day, one of the largest international religious gatherings.

A court in Radom, south of Warsaw, also ordered the Russian to pay a fine of PLN 10,000 (USD 2,950, EUR 2,400).

During his five-day pilgrimage to Poland in 2016, Pope Francis visited the former Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp, celebrated masses, visited a children's hospital and held a string of meetings with young Catholic faithful from all over the world.

(pk/gs)

Source: IAR </s> WARSAW, Poland — Polish authorities have detained a Russian citizen and banned four others from entering Poland for five years on allegations of “information warfare.”

Authorities say they tried to fuel animosity between Poles and Ukrainians and sought to challenge Polish views on history with a Russian narrative.

The move comes amid rising fears that Russia is seeking to destabilize Poland and exacerbate Polish-Ukrainian tensions that would leave Ukraine isolated. Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency, which investigates espionage and terrorism, said Thursday that it had detained a Russian woman identified only as Yekaterina C. and would expel her.

The agency accused the Russians of being engaged in “hybrid” activities, a term used to describe non-military but subversive tactics that Russia is suspected of using to further its interests. </s> PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — A Montenegro court on Thursday sentenced two Russian military intelligence operatives and 11 others to up to 15 years in prison for plotting to overthrow the Balkan country's government and prevent it from joining NATO.

The two Russians, identified as Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov, were tried in absentia and convicted of attempted terrorism and creating a criminal organization.

The verdict said the group planned to take over the parliament in Montenegro on election day — Oct. 16, 2016 — assassinate then-Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and install a pro-Russia, anti-NATO leadership in the Adriatic Sea nation.

The U.S. Embassy in the capital of Podgorica said the verdict against the reported operatives from the GRU Russian military intelligence service and others represents a "historic day for the rule of law" in Montenegro.

"The open and transparent trial represents an important step forward for the rule of law and sends a strong message about the unacceptability of efforts to undermine democracy," the U.S. Embassy said.

The U.S. and its allies have accused the GRU of involvement in a 2018 nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy in Britain, hacking the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and disrupting anti-doping efforts in world sports. Russian authorities have rejected those accusations, calling them part of a Western smear campaign against Russia.

Shishmakov received a 15-year prison term while Popov got 12 years. Two leading ethnic Serb opposition politicians, Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic, were sentenced to five years each. The other nine others convicted received verdicts ranging from 8 years in jail to suspended sentences.

Montenegro joined NATO in June 2017 as the military alliance's 29th member despite strong opposition from Moscow, which considers the country a historic Slavic ally and is opposed to NATO's enlargement.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied involvement in the Montenegro coup plot.

Shishmakov, however, had been a deputy military attache at the Russian embassy in Warsaw and was declared persona non grata in Poland in 2014 because it believed he was involved in spying.

Montenegro's security services said they thwarted the coup attempt after receiving tips from Western spy organizations.

The lawyers for the convicted Serbs said they will appeal, calling the verdict "a political fabrication."

"What I heard today is a political message: the Russian Federation is guilty, the Serbian people are guilty," said lawyer Miroje Jovanovic. "That's really scandalous."

The verdict said the two convicted Russians coordinated the attempted coup from neighboring Serbia. They were allowed by Serbia's pro-Russia authorities to leave for Moscow despite reports that they had encrypted mobile phones and other sophisticated spy equipment.

The judge in Montenegro, Suzana Mugosa, said while reading the lengthy verdict that the Russians provided at least 200,000 euros ($224,500) to buy rifles and guns. She said they tried to recruit "as many people as possible to come to the protest" and try to "change the electoral will" and prevent Montenegro from joining NATO.

The judge said the two ethnic Serb politicians made several trips on the eve of the election to Moscow, where they were believed to have gotten instructions from the GRU operatives.

"Each member of the criminal organization had a task and role that had been previously determined and the criminal organization was ready to implement violence and intimidation," she said.

This story corrects the length of sentences given to nine other defendants to ranging from 8 years in jail to suspended sentences.

Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this report from Belgrade, Serbia. </s> PRAGUE (AP) — Czech police have arrested a Russian hacker suspected of cyberattacks in the United States, officials said on Wednesday.

Police said an international warrant for the man, who was not named, was issued by Interpol and that officers cooperated with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation on the case.

Police spokesman Jozef Bocan said the man was arrested in a Prague hotel. After the arrest, the suspect collapsed, received first aid treatment and was hospitalized, Bocan said.

Another police spokesman, David Schoen, told The Associated Press the arrest took place on Oct. 5 and that police delayed releasing information about it for "tactical" reasons.

Police video from the arrest, obtained by the AP, identified the man only as Yevgeniy N.

Prague's Municipal Court will now have to decide on his extradition to the United States, with Justice Minister Robert Pelikan having the final say. Russian officials, however, are demanding that the suspect be handed over to them.

Spokeswoman Marketa Puci said the court ruled on Oct. 12 that the man will remain in detention until the extradition hearing. No date has yet been set.

U.S. authorities have two months to deliver to their Czech counterparts all the documents necessary for the Czech authorities to decide on the extradition request.

Stepanka Zenklova, spokeswoman for Prague's state prosecution, said U.S. officials have not officially asked for the man's extradition.

Russia's TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted Prague's Russian Embassy spokesman Alexey Kolmakov as saying that it was insisting that the suspect be handed over to Russia.

"The embassy has been taking all necessary efforts to protect the interests of this Russian citizen. We are in contact with his attorney," the embassy statement said.

"Russia repudiates Washington's policy of imposing its extraterritorial jurisdiction on all countries. We insist that the detainee is handed over to Russia,"

Justice Ministry Tereza Schejbalova said her ministry has not received any official request from Russia in this case.

The U.S. has accused Russia of coordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and other institutions and individuals in the U.S. to influence the outcome of the election. Russia has vigorously denied that.

It is not immediately clear if this case has anything to do with that accusation. </s> MOSCOW (AP) - A member of the Russian protest group Pussy Riot says he's recovering after spending two weeks in intensive care with a suspected poisoning.

Pyotr Verzilov has been at Berlin's Charite hospital since arriving from Moscow, where he had been previously treated. Verzilov tweeted Tuesday that he only fully regained consciousness three days ago after being in a "black hole" for the previous 12 days. He added he was "spending days in the great company of wonderful poisons."

German doctors treating Verzilov said last week that reports he was poisoned are "highly plausible," but stressed they can't say how this might have occurred or who was responsible.

Verzilov and three other Pussy Riot members spent 15 days in jail in Russia for running onto field during the World Cup final to protest Russian police actions.

FILE - In this Sunday, July 15, 2018 file photo, stewards pull a woman off the pitch after she stormed onto the field and interrupted the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. The chief organizer of Russia's World Cup says police stopped 170 people from invading the pitch during games before four members of the Pussy Riot protest group eventually stormed the final dressed as police officers. Organizing committee CEO Alexei Sorokin has downplayed security problems despite the pitch invasion that happened in the final between France and Croatia on July 15. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File) </s> MOSCOW (AP) - A Ukrainian court on Friday sanctioned the arrest of a celebrated former military pilot accused of plotting an attack on parliament with grenades and automatic weapons.

Nadiya Savchenko, who has declared presidential ambitions, described the charges against her as an attempt by President Petro Poroshenko's government to get rid of a powerful challenger ahead of the next year's presidential vote.

The Shevchenko District Court in the Ukrainian capital on Friday ordered that she be kept behind bars for two months pending an official probe. The ruling followed parliament's vote to strip her of her immunity as a lawmaker.

Prosecutors have accused Savchenko of plotting a coup in collusion with Russia-backed rebels - a plan to attack parliament with hand grenades, automatic weapons and even heavy mortars.

Savchenko said she talked about attacking parliament as a "surrealist political provocation" to mock the government because she knew she was being wiretapped.

Savchenko told the court Friday that her case was politically motivated.

"When I said I would run for president I became dangerous for the authorities, and they sought to cast me in a negative light," she told the court.

She said she's going on a hunger strike to let the public realize that "the Ukrainian government is just as criminal as the Russian one."

Savchenko became a national hero in Ukraine after spending years in a Russian prison. She was elected in absentia to parliament in 2014, months after she was captured by Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine while serving in a volunteer battalion. She then landed in a Russian prison.

In March 2016, a Russian court sentenced her to 22 years in prison, saying she acted as a spotter for mortar fire that killed two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine. During her trial she sang the national anthem and raised her middle finger in a show of contempt for Russian authorities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned her shortly afterward amid international outrage at her sentence, but after her return home, Savchenko quickly fell out with Poroshenko, whose government she has accused of corruption and incompetence. </s> March 22 (UPI) -- Ukrainian authorities arrested MP Nadia Savchenko, a former military pilot released from Russian captivity in 2016, Thursday on allegations she plotted to overthrow the government.

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, voted to remove Savchenko's immunity from prosecution after they viewed a video purporting to show her talking to two officers about plans to attack the legislative body.

Savchenko didn't deny the allegations, saying the "corrupt" government should be overthrown. Still, she said the plot was a "provocation," the BBC reported.

Ukraine's chief prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, said Savchenko tried to make a deal with Russian-backed rebels to obtain weapons including sniper rifles and grenades. Lutsenko said she may be subjected to a forced psychiatric evaluation.

"The court and only the court will determine if these accusations are right [...] Of course, after a judicial action called 'forced psychiatric evaluation," he said.

Savchenko, 36, was released in a prison swap between Russia and Ukraine in May 2016. A Russian court had sentenced the helicopter pilot to 22 years in prison for the deaths of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine by reporting their coordinates to a Ukrainian artillery battalion.

Savchenko emphatically denied the charges and became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against Russia. </s> A court in Montenegro has sentenced alleged Russian military intelligence agents, opposition politicians and a number of associates to jail terms over an alleged 2016 attempt to organise a coup in the country and prevent it from joining Nato.

The chief judge, Suzana Mugoša, said Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov, alleged GRU agents, were guilty of attempted terrorism and creating a criminal organisation, and handed them sentences of 15 and 12 years respectively. The pair were tried in absentia. Two politicians, Andrija Mandić and Milan Knežević, were each sentenced to five years in jail.

If the prosecutors’ account of events at the trial is correct, the coup attempt would represent one of the most audacious Russian foreign policy gambits in recent times. The verdict said the group intended to take over parliament on election day in October 2016, assassinate the then prime minister, Milo Đukanović, and install a pro-Kremlin leadership.

Montenegro authorities claim the plot was thwarted on the basis of tipoffs from western spy agencies, and the suspects rounded up before the plan could be put into action. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has previously dismissed allegations of Russian involvement as “absurd”, claiming Russia does not meddle in the internal affairs of other countries.

The verdict handed down on Thursday said the Russian pair coordinated the attempted coup from Serbia and were allowed to leave the country by Serbian authorities. Diplomatic sources told the Guardian at the time that the Russians were allowed to leave the country on the plane of Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia’s security council.

A source close to the Belgrade government told the Guardian at the time that Patrushev, a former head of Russia’s FSB domestic security service, apologised for what he called a rogue operation that was conducted without the Kremlin’s sanction. A Russian security council official responded to the Guardian report by saying Patrushev “didn’t apologise to anyone, because there is nothing to apologise for”.

The investigation website Bellingcat has identified the two Russians sentenced on Thursday as probable GRU agents operating under pseudonyms.

The judge said the aim of the coup was “to change the electoral will” of the people and “prevent Montenegro from joining Nato”. She said she believed the two politicians had travelled to Moscow to take instructions from GRU operatives.

The GRU has been accused of a number of audacious operations in recent years, including the 2018 attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury using the nerve agent novichok, and hacking the 2016 US presidential campaign.

The details of the Montenegro plot remain murky, and sceptics have pointed to a number of oddities about the way the coup suspects were rounded up, discrepancies in the prosecution testimony and key witnesses recanting their testimony.

A source in Serbia told the Guardian recently that the coup plot story was “all true, but it was terribly organised”. Others have speculated that there may have been a genuine plot to cause disruption on election day, but that Montenegrin authorities exaggerated the details.

Mandić and Knežević have dismissed the court case as politically motivated and an attempt to remove them from public life. The two men, both ethnic Serbs, are strong opponents of Đukanović and of Montenegro’s Nato membership. The country joined the alliance in 2017, despite an almost 50/50 split inside Montenegro between supporters and opponents of the move.

Đukanović, who supported Nato accession, has been the most powerful man in Montenegro since 1991. His critics say western partners turn a blind eye to corruption and rule of law issues due to his pro-western stance. </s> Vladimir Putin has signed an order to have Russia withdrawn from the International Criminal Court (ICC) amid calls for his military to be referred over air strikes backing President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the annexation of Crimea.

The President instructed Russia's foreign ministry to notify the United Nations of the country's refusal to be subject to the body's activity on Wednesday, following the same move by Gambia, South Africa and Burundi.

State media reported that the government was pulling out of the 2002 Rome Statute, which establishes the International Criminal Court's status and powers, although the Kremlin never ratified the agreement it signed in 2000.

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“The International Criminal Court has not justified hopes placed upon it and did not become a truly independent and authoritative judicial body,” a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry said.

A statement claimed that Russia "consistently advocates that people guilty of grave offences must be held accountable" and took part in developing laws against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Francois Hollande, the President of France, called suggested that Russia should face war crimes charges over its bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo last month.

“These are people who today are the victims of war crimes,” he told French television amid hundreds of reported civilian deaths.

“Those that commit these acts will have to face up to their responsibility, including in the ICC.”

Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Show all 19 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria 1/19 Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 2/19 Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP 3/19 Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty 4/19 Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP 5/19 Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 6/19 Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 7/19 A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 8/19 Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 9/19 Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 10/19 Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria 11/19 The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria 12/19 Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP 13/19 Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit 14/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis 15/19 Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed 16/19 A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria 17/19 A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit 18/19 Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria 19/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis 1/19 Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 2/19 Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP 3/19 Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty 4/19 Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP 5/19 Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 6/19 Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 7/19 A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 8/19 Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 9/19 Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 10/19 Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria 11/19 The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria 12/19 Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP 13/19 Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit 14/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis 15/19 Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed 16/19 A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria 17/19 A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit 18/19 Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria 19/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

It was the latest call parties in the conflict to be prosecuted by the ICC, after Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to refer the Assad regime in 2014.

Both Russian and Syria have denied deliberately killing civilians or breaking international law in the Syrian civil war, saying they are targeting terrorist groups.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued an appeal to all countries attempting to withdraw from the ICC on Wednesday.

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He said those making the attempt were seeking to “desert victims of the most abominable international crimes” and could not claim their action was based on principle.

“If the State Parties, who apparently have been masquerading in recent years as countries devoted to criminal accountability, want to leave, then they should leave,” Mr al-Hussein added.

“But we are not convinced their position is based entirely on principle. Quite the opposite: it appears to aim more at protecting their leaders from prosecution.”

The commissioner said there was “no substitute” for the ICC, which he hopes will be eventually accepted universally.

“By withdrawing from the Rome Statute, leaders may shield themselves with immunities – but it will be at the cost of depriving their people of the protection of a unique and essential institution,” he warned.

“We face a choice. We can safeguard our societies by standing firm on the principles of justice which anchor this institution.

“Or we can cast away the moorings of law laid down to save the world from horror – and turn away from the screams, as impunity overwhelms men, women and children in wave upon wave of violence.”

The ICC is intended to prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the worst violations of international law - genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

But far only African defendants have been put on trial and a number of countries including the US, China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Turkey have not signed the treaty.

Like Russia - Egypt, Iran and Israel signed but failed to ratify the agreement, making it unlikely their governments could ever be prosecuted by the court.
A court in Radom, Poland, hands a six-month suspended prison term and a 10,000 zloty fine to a Russian pilot who caused a security scare during Pope Francis's 2016 visit for World Youth Day. The Russian had flown from the Czech Republic to compete in an international aerobatics competition and unknowingly violated a no-fly zone imposed for the papal visit. After failing to contact the aircraft, local authorities scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to intercept it.