Poland alerts prosecutors about alleged crimes during investigation of 2010 plane crash that killed president

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Defense Ministry said Friday it notified prosecutors about alleged crimes committed by members of a special unit. commission who investigated the 2010 plane crash in Russia that killed Poland’s then-president and 95 others. Commissioners alleged that the accident was a Moscow-sponsored assassination.

The notifications of 41 possible crimes are the result of a recent review by experts of the work of the controversial commission that was launched by the previous right-wing government in 2016. The investigation exacerbated Poland’s already deeply strained relations with Russia.

The commission, attached to the Ministry of Defense, was generally considered to be politically motivated and served to consolidate the electorate of the conservative ruling party led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, twin brother of President Lech Kaczynski, who died in the accident.

The recent review initiated by the current government found that the members of the commission lacked the necessary qualifications to investigate aviation accidents and manipulated his findings and other data to align with the theory of an intentional explosion on board the plane, something they never demonstrated.

The review published this week said the commission’s work cost the state about 81 million zlotys ($20 million) and was characterized by lack of professionalism, including lack of transparency and reliability. Violations of the law and abuse of power are alleged by the head of the commission, Antoni Macierewicz, a former defense minister, and his successor in the ministry during the previous government, Mariusz Blaszczak. Most of the notifications to prosecutors concern Macierewicz and Blaszczak.

Current Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said the review showed Macierewicz was “cynically… deceiving Polish society for many years” and should bear the consequences. He argued that Macierewicz could face up to 10 years in prison.

Prime minister Donald Tusk He called Macierewicz a “notorious instigator and liar” who acted on Kaczynski’s orders to foment political divisions in Poland.

The national prosecutor’s office said notifications were being registered on Friday, but did not give details about what will happen next.

Separate investigations by professional aviation commissions in Poland and Russia concluded that the April 2010 crash at a rudimentary airport near Smolensk was the result of human error during the landing approach in dense fog.