Murder of Putin critic in Biała Podlaska. Suspect linked to organised crime
Polish police have detained a 36-year-old man holding a Georgian passport in connection with the murder of Russian citizen Semion Skripecki.
Murder of Putin critic in Biała Podlaska. Suspect linked to organised crime
On Thursday morning at a hostel near Warsaw, officers detained a 36-year-old man with a Georgian passport who is suspected of murdering a Russian citizen in Biała Podlaska. Investigators are also linking him to other criminal activity in Poland.
The murdered Semion Skripecki was a cartoonist and public critic of Vladimir Putin and Ramzan Kadyrov. In the past, Polish security services repeatedly offered him protection, but he refused to accept it — according to statements made at a press conference by Minister of Internal Affairs Marcin Kierwiński and minister coordinating special services Tomasz Siemoniak.
According to Kierwiński, the detained man has links to the world of organised crime and may have participated in crimes committed in 2022. Siemoniak added that one of the main investigative hypotheses is that the murder was ordered by Russian special services.
Skripecki was shot on Monday in a car park near the Belarusian consulate. The perpetrator fired several times from close range, and one of the shots appeared to be a coup de grâce — according to a police officer familiar with the details of the case speaking to the Onet portal. Despite resuscitation attempts, the victim could not be saved.
The prosecutor's office is not currently ruling out other motives for the crime. Siemoniak noted that similar contract killings had taken place in recent years in other European countries, and indications as to their origin pointed to Russia.
Source: TA3
Source: Google News SK — Crime (sk)