Polish man sentenced to life in Congo on espionage charges has been released and returned to Europe

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s top diplomat says that Congo has released a Polish man who was sentenced to life in prison on espionage charges. Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said Tuesday on X that Mariusz Majewski is back in Europe. Sikorski posted a brief video of himself apparently talking to Majewski over the phone to welcome him back. The 52-year-old Majewski was detained in Congo in February and later faced a military court in the restive Central African nation. He was accused of spying. Poland’s Foreign Ministry says he’s innocent and insisted that he was just a traveler who found himself in Congo by coincidence of circumstances. President Andrzej Duda spoke on the phone with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi seeking to obtain Majewski’s release.