WARSAW, Poland — On Friday, Poland’s Defense Ministry announced it has alerted prosecutors regarding potential criminal activities linked to members of a special commission that examined the 2010 plane crash in Russia, which resulted in the deaths of Poland’s then-president and 95 other individuals. The commissioners have claimed that the incident constituted a Moscow-sponsored assassination.
The referral of 41 suspected offenses stems from a recent expert evaluation of the controversial commission’s findings, which was established by the previous right-wing administration in 2016. This investigation has further strained Poland’s already tense relations with Russia.
The commission, which operated under the auspices of the Defense Ministry, has been widely criticized as politically charged, allegedly serving to bolster support for the ruling conservative party led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Kaczynski is the twin brother of Lech Kaczynski, the president who perished in the crash.
The current government’s recent review determined that the commission members lacked sufficient expertise to conduct aviation investigations. It also found that they appeared to manipulate evidence and conclusions to support the unproven theory of an explosion aboard the aircraft.
According to the review released this week, the commission’s operations are estimated to have cost the Polish state approximately 81 million zlotys (around $20 million) and were marked by unprofessional practices, including a significant lack of transparency and dependability. Allegations of legal violations and abuse of authority were made against Antoni Macierewicz, the commission’s leader and a former defense minister, as well as Mariusz Blaszczak, who succeeded him during the previous administration. Most allegations in the referrals focus on Macierewicz and Blaszczak.
Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk commented that the review highlighted how Macierewicz had been “cynically deceiving Polish society for many years,” indicating that he could potentially face up to a decade in prison.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk also condemned Macierewicz, branding him an “instigator and a notorious liar” who acted according to Kaczynski’s directives to sow political discord within Poland.
The national prosecutor’s office confirmed that the notifications were being processed on Friday but did not disclose the next steps in the legal proceedings.
In contrast, separate investigations conducted by professional aviation bodies in Poland and Russia attributed the April 2010 catastrophe near Smolensk to human error during the landing in poor visibility conditions.