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

Congolese authorities have released a Polish man who was sentenced there to life in prison on espionage charges, Poland's foreign minister said Tuesday.

Radek Sikorski wrote on social media platform X that Mariusz Majewski was back in Europe. Sikorski posted a brief video of himself apparently talking to Majewski over the phone to welcome him back. He did not say where exactly Majewski was.

The 52-year-old was detained by Congolese forces in February and later faced a military court in the restive 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.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry protested Majewski's innocence. Last week President Andrzej Duda spoke on the phone with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi seeking to obtain Majewski's release.

Poland does not have a diplomatic mission in Congo.

Last week, Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski 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.”

Wronski said it was due to a chain of coincidental circumstances and events that he found himself in Congo and 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.