The news of the plan was announced by Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Warchoł on Sunday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Warchoł told the news agency in an interview: “The bill is in response to the threat coming to us from Russia. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the related threat has made it necessary to amend the Penal Code.”
The deputy interior minister stressed: “Espionage is exceptionally dangerous to the existence of every state, and so it should be prosecuted with exceptional ruthlessness and the law should be consistent in this regard.”
Espionage to be punished by up to 25 years in prison
Under the bill, the punishment for working for a foreign-intelligence service will rise from between one and ten years in prison, to a jail term of between five and 25 years, officials said.
In addition, spying in the form of passing on information will be punishable by a prison sentence of between eight years and life imprisonment, compared to the current penalty of up to three years in prison, reporters were told.
Furthermore, organising and directing the activities of a foreign-intelligence service on Polish territory will carry a prison sentence of between ten years and life imprisonment, whereas to date the lowest possible punishment for such a crime was five years, the PAP news agency reported.
New rules modelled on Britain, France, Germany
The proposed regulations were modelled on rules already in place in other countries, including Britain, Estonia, France, Germany and Sweden, Warchoł told PAP.
The bill now goes before MPs, officials said.
“Hopefully the Sejm [lower house of parliament] will process the draft legislation without delay - the decision lies with the Sejm Speaker,” the deputy interior minister stated, as reported by the PAP news agency.
Sunday is day 242 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, wnp.pl