Failed suicide sparks conflict

20th January 2012

The country’s chief prosecutor has called for the head of the military prosecutor’s office in a bitter war of words sparked by last week’s failed suicide attempt by a leading military prosecutor connected to the Smolensk inquiry.

Prosecutor General Andrzej Seremet demanded the dismissal of General Krzysztof Parulski for his apparent “insubordination” towards his superior after he supported allegations made by fellow military prosecutor Colonel Mikolaj Przybyl that the civilian office was interfering in military investigations.

Col. Przybyl made his accusations at a press conference before shooting himself in the face during a break while journalists waited outside his office.

“This is not a personal conflict or a dispute over the position of the military prosecutor in the legal structure,” Mr Seremet told the parliamentary justice committee Thursday morning. “This is the reaction of a superior when faced with insubordination from a subordinate.”

“Six thousand three hundred prosecutors were waiting for my move: whether I was going to let my decisions be questioned,” he continued. “If I had not reacted it would have meant I would have been unable to stop such behaviour in the future. Parulski’s fate is now in the hands of the president.”

But President Bronislaw Komorowski appeared unwilling to make a rapid decision on whether or not to sack Gen. Parulski.

During a television interview with news channel TVN 24 Tomasz Nalecz, the president’s chief advisor, described Mr Seremet’s application for the soldier’s dismissal as “hasty”, explaining that President Komorowski was still seeking more information on the dispute. Earlier the president’s office had expressed its “regret” over receiving the request for the general to be fired.

Adding to tensions surrounding the feud has been fresh allegations relating to the investigation into the Smolensk disaster at a time when the military prosecutor’s office is facing accusations it used illegal methods during a probe into the leak of classified documents relating to the crash.

Polish experts have alleged that the Russian investigation contained a number of flaws prompting closer scrutiny of both Poland’s military and civilian prosecutor’s offices, which were involved in preparing the Polish investigation.