The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland expresses its deep sympathy to the family and loved ones of those who were killed after their car hit a lorry driven by a Polish citizen near the town of Ivatsevichy in Belarus.

At the same time, we oppose the tragic death of two women being used in a media attack on the Polish citizen and we strongly deny that a Polish consular official acting in this case has violated Belarusian, Polish or international law.

The explanations provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Polish consular services confirm that the Belarusian authorities had not informed the Polish consular post that the lorry driver was about to be required to remain in Belarus.  To the MFA’s knowledge, he himself did not receive such information from the authorities investigating the case, either. The Polish citizen voluntarily remained at the disposal of the investigating authorities for four days while waiting for the announced investigative experiment—a reconstruction of the incident. During that time he was formally a witness in the case.

When the reconstruction had not been carried out within the announced deadline, he decided to return to Poland, lawfully crossing the border and using a passport which had not been removed. It was only when he was apprehended at the border that he was informed of the change of his status in the case and of the ban on leaving the country.

It is therefore untrue that the Polish citizen intended to flee Belarus and that the Polish consular officers supposedly encouraged and assisted him. Manipulated audio and video recordings published in the media, including from a private telephone, show that the Belarusian authorities deliberately violated the provisions of Articles 7 and 11 of the Bilateral Consular Convention of 2 March 1992 and drastically violated international good practices.

We expect that the investigation will be conducted honestly and fairly. Please note that the hearing of the Polish citizen at the border crossing took place without an interpreter despite the fact that he does not speak Belarusian or Russian. This is not the only breach of law in this case.

All the above-mentioned events suggest that the actions of the Belarusian authorities may have been deliberate and calculated to further degrade bilateral relations between our countries. The Polish authorities will respond appropriately and will inform the Belarusian side of the measures taken.

 

MFA Press Spokesperson
Łukasz Jasina