Military students execute colleague

29th January 2010

© Piotr Twardysko Michal P. gets 25 years for executing friend Share:

A military recruit has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for organising and overseeing the execution of a fellow student.


Michal P. (20), and two friends from a military school in Zlotoryja murdered fellow colleague Maciej Witkowski three years ago.

The four boys, all students at the same institution, were believed to have been members of a secretive German-Polish association known as Dragon, which specialised in martial arts.

Police originally received notification that Witkowski was missing in January 2007, although the only information was that the last people he was seen with were Michal P. and Mark A. Both however, denied knowing any details which would aid the investigation.

Following a three month search, authorities were alerted to a grave-like trench on the Zlotoryja mountain slopes from a member of the public.

Upon further investigation, they discovered the corpse of Witkowski, his hands and feet tied and his throat slit.

An autopsy revealed that the victim had not tried to defend himself and that he had died on his knees in the pre-dug grave.

Police now believe that at the time Witkowski was lured to the site under the false pretence that it was all part of a exercise and that he had no idea he would end up dead.

Upon hearing the verdict, Michal P. told reporters “I have no remorse.”

“This is a person who gets pleasure from the bullying and humiliation of other people,” said one psychological expert. “This gives him a sense of domination over another human being.”