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.
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.