May 10, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka claimed on May 9 that Polish defector Emil Czeczko had been murdered, but would not elaborate whether any suspects have been identified.
It was the first official comment since 2022 on the mysterious death of the Pole who fled to Belarus and accused Polish soldiers of murdering migrants.
Speaking to journalists after the Victory Day ceremony, the Belarusian strongman said that he provided security for another Polish defector, former judge Tomasz Szmydt.
“We warned him [Szmydt] that you can give a news conference etc. but be careful you expose yourself to danger – they had murdered Czeczko,” the Belarusian ruler said.
The Belarusian Investigative Committee reported on March 17, 2022 that Czeczko was found hanged in his Minsk apartment. It has not released any updates on the investigation since then.
Back in March 2022, the committee said it considered all possible theories “including the violent nature of death.”
Belarusian authorities have treated Czeczko as a hero and even named a street after him. Polish officials were outraged that he was buried at the Polish military cemetery in Daŭhinava, Vilejka district, Minsk region.
“The burial of a traitor in the cemetery among Polish soldiers, heroes of the Second World War and the setting of the event – the casket draped 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,” said Stanisław Żaryn, spokesman for the minister-special services coordinator.
Żaryn noted that “in Poland, Czeczko has been shrouded in shame, and his reprehensible behavior has met with public condemnation.”
In December 2021, Czeczko, a soldier with the 11th Masurian Artillery Regiment of the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division, applied for political asylum in Belarus, saying he disagreed with “Poland’s policy in the migration crisis and inhuman treatment of migrants.”
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said after his defection that Czeczko had serious problems with the law and filed for resignation.
“He should never have been assigned to serve at the border. I demanded an investigation to find out who is responsible for this,” Błaszczak said.
Also read: Polish official outraged by defector’s burial at Polish World War II soldiers’ cemetery
