Builder is jailed for boasting that he had fought for Wagner Group in Ukraine as he brandished knife at Viking re-enactment
A builder has been jailed after boasting that he fought for the Russian mercenary Wagner Group in Ukraine.
A builder has been jailed after boasting that he fought for the Russian mercenary Wagner Group in Ukraine.
Piotr Kucharski, 49, from Watford, was pictured wearing combat gear and badges with the Russian terror groups insignia as he took part in a Viking re-enactment in Suffolk.
Snapped at the event brandishing a knife, Kucharksi was arrested after becoming aggressive and waving the blade in a throat-slitting motion in October of last year.
Appearing before Londons Old Bailey court on Friday, the Polish national was jailed for two-and-a-half years with a further year on extended license for professing to be a member of a proscribed terror group.
In September, 2023, the UK government designated the Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation, making it a criminal offence to belong or offer support to.
Piotr Kucharski (pictured) has been jailed for two-and-a-half-years for pretending to have fought for the Wagner Group in Ukraine
Kucharski posed for photos wearing Wagner Group insignia at a Viking re-enactment event in Suffolk last October
The Wagner Group was proscribed a terror organisation by the UK government in September of last year
Kucharski was arrested at the Viking re-enactment after brandishing his blade and making aggressive throat-slitting gestures
Other attendees at the re-enactment shared that Kucharski, who had previously been jailed for armed robbery in his native Poland, had told them about his faux fighting exploits on the Ukrainian frontlines.
Kucharksi also repeated these falsehoods online over the course of several Facebook posts and in direct messages to contacts too.
Interviewed in the aftermath of his arrest by authorities, Kucharski claimed he had purchased and used the insignias to provoke a reaction as he held alternative views to the prevailing narrative around Russias invasion of Ukraine.
In a search of his home, police recovered a picture of Adolf Hitler along with a copy of his infamous manifesto Mein Kampf.
Other fascist memorabilia was also found at the Polish nationals residence.
49-year-old Kucharski claimed he only pretended to be a part of the Wagner terror group, however even imitation of membership to such a group carries with it heavy sentences
Fascist memorabilia including the manifesto of Adolf Hitler were uncovered by authorities who searched Kucharskis home address in Watford
Whilst entering his guilty plea before the court, Kucharski reiterated his claim that he was only pretending to be a member of the terror group.
However, this was immediately rejected by the judge who stated that the 49-year-old has acted with a foolish bravado.
The Counter Terrorism Policing unit stated there was no evidence supporting Kucharski being a bona fide member of the Russian terror group or that he had fought in Russias invasion of Ukraine.
Despite this, even the act of purporting to be a member of a proscribed terror organisation carries with it serious repercussions under UK terror laws.
Speaking to Kucharskis conviction, Frank Ferguson of the Crown Prosecution Service, said; Piotr Kucharski claimed to be fighting for the Wagner Group as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and aggressively threatened people with a knife, acting upon his extremist views and the reputation of a terrorist organisation to cause fear in others.
The CPS will always seek to prosecute those who support terrorism in any way.
