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

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Congolese authorities have released a Polish man who was sentenced there to life in prison on espionage charges, Poland's top diplomat said Tuesday.

Mariusz Majewski is back in Europe, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said on X. Sikorski posted a brief video of himself apparently talking to Majewski over the phone to welcome him back. He didn't say where exactly Majewski was.

The 52-year-old Majewski was detained in Congo in February and later faced a military court in the Central African nation, accused of spying. Last week, he received a life sentence in prison. No details were released as to where he was held.

The allegations against him said that he had “approached the front line with Mobondo militiamen,” moved along the front line without authorization and “took photos of sensitive and strategic places and secretly observed military activities.”

The Mobondo is a militia group that has been involved in intercommunal violence in southwestern Congo since 2022.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry says that Majewski was innocent. President Andrzej Duda spoke on the phone last week with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi seeking to obtain Majewski's release.

Poland doesn't have a diplomatic mission in Congo.

Last week, Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Paweł Wroński said without elaborating that Majewski “is not a spy, he is a member of a travelers club” and was just following his “passion in life.” Wroński said his “behavior was the result of a lack of knowledge of local customs.”

Earlier this month, the Congolese army said it had foiled a coup attempt and arrested the perpetrators, including some foreigners. Several U.S. citizens are among those arrested.

FILE - Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski addresses reporters at the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 14, 2024. Congolese authorities have released a Polish man who was sentenced there to life in prison on espionage charges, Poland's foreign minister said Tuesday May 28, 2024. Radek Sikorski wrote on social media platform X that Mariusz Majewski was back in Europe. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)

FILE - Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi speaks during a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The office of Poland's president says Abdrzej Duda has spoken on the phone with Congolese president in an effort to obtain the release of a Polish traveller sentenced there for life in prison on charges of sabotage. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

FILE - Poland's President Andrzej Duda gives a statement to the media in Warsaw, Poland, on Jan. 10, 2024, after the arrest of two politicians convicted of abuse of power who had taken refuge for hours in the presidential palace. The office of Poland's president says Abdrzej Duda has spoken on the phone with Congolese president in an effort to obtain the release of a Polish traveller sentenced there for life in prison on charges of sabotage. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)

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

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

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge on Friday rejected an effort by GOP lawmakers to use the term “unborn human being” to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters will use to weigh a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten said the wording the legislative council suggested is “packed with emotion and partisan meaning” and asked for what he called more “neutral” language. The measure aims to expand abortion access from 15 weeks to 24 weeks – the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb.

It would allow exemptions to save the woman’s life or to protect her physical or mental health. It would also prevent the state from adopting or enforcing laws that would forbid access to the procedure.

Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, who is a co-chair of the legislative council, said the group will appeal the court’s decision to the state Supreme Court.

“The ruling is just plain wrong and clearly partisan,” said Toma, a Republican.

Aaron Thacker, communications director for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, noted that the final decision on the ballot itself remains in the air.

“There’s still a lot of scenarios at play," he said. "Even after the secretary certifies the signatures, the courts have to decide if counties can put it on the ballot or not."

Arizona for Abortion Access, the organization leading the ballot measure campaign, sued the council earlier this month over the suggested language and advocated for the term “fetus,” which the council rejected.

Attorney General Kris Mayes wrote in a motion to submit an amicus brief that “fetus" and “pregnancy” are both neutral terms that the council could adopt.

“It’s incredibly important to us that Arizona voters get to learn more about and weigh our measure in objective and accurate terminology,” said Dawn Penich, communications director for the abortion access group.

Democrats have centered abortion rights in their campaigns in this year’s elections. Organizers in five other states have also proposed similar measures that would codify abortion access in their state constitutions: Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada and South Dakota.

Arizona organizers submitted more than double the amount of signatures needed for the measure to appear on the ballot.

FILE - Arizona abortion-rights supporters deliver over 800,000 petition signatures to the capitol to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. A judge on Friday, July 26, rejected an effort by GOP lawmakers to use the term “unborn human being” to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters will use to decide on a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)