Polish official outraged by defector’s burial at Polish World War II soldiers’ cemetery

May 8, BPN. Belarusian propaganda used defector Emil Czeczko “even after his death to carry out disinformation and provocative actions against Poland,” Stanisław Żaryn, spokesperson for the minister-special services coordinator, wrote in his Twitter account.

“The burial of a traitor in the cemetery among Polish soldiers, heroes of the Second World War and the setting of the event – a coffin covered with a white and red flag, a wreath with a ribbon and inscription: ‘For the Polish Soldier and Patriot – the Polish Nation’ was a Belarusian provocation,” Żaryn wrote, noting that Belarusian propaganda used the setting to claim that Poles supported Czeczko’s defection and allegations against Poland.

Żaryn noted that “in Poland, Czeczko has been shrouded in shame, and his reprehensible behavior has met with public condemnation.” 

On December 17, 2021, Belarusian State Border Committee reported that Polish soldier Emil Czeczko applied for political asylum in Belarus in protest against Poland’s policy toward migrants.

On December 18, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that Czeczko “had serious problems with the law and filed for his resignation from the army.” Bialystok District Prosecutor’s Office issued a warrant for Czeczko’s arrest. He could face up to 10 years in prison.

Belarusian state media disseminated Czeczko’s statements about the alleged murder of illegal migrants, who crossed the border from Belarus, committed by him and other Polish soldiers. No real corroboration of his words was ever presented.

Czeczko reportedly applied to the Belarusian pro-governmental organization Sistemnaya Pravozashchita with a request for assistance in obtaining a refugee status in Belarus, whose head found Czeczko hanged in his apartment in Minsk on March 17.

He was buried only on May 5 in the Polish military cemetery in Daŭhinava, Vilejka district, Minsk region.