Belarus’ Foreign Ministry comments on criminal case with Polish citizen’s involvement
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s press secretary, Anatoly Glaz, commented on the escape of a Pole – a suspect in a fatal car accident near Ivatsevichi, “An attempt of his escape was initiated and organised by the staff of the Consulate General of Poland in Brest."
The Polish Charge d'Affaires was summoned to the Foreign Ministry yesterday.
“We are dealing with an absolutely egregious case,” Mr. Glaz said. “A Polish citizen was involved in an accident on the territory of Belarus, as a result of which two Belarusian ladies were killed. In this regard, he became a suspect in a fatal car accident. It was quite logical that his right to leave the Republic of Belarus was temporarily restricted. However, on January 3rd, in order to avoid responsibility, this man tried to leave our country and hide in Poland – but was detained by our border guards.”
According to Mr. Glaz, it was established that the escape attempt was initiated and organised by the staff of the Consulate General of Poland in Brest. Moreover, they did it consciously, understanding both the validity of the travel restrictions for the suspect and the fact that two people died as a result of the car accident.
“The employees of the Polish Consulate General deliberately encouraged their citizen to violate the Belarusian law. Moreover, they foredoomed him to the inclusion into an international wanted list in connection with the car accident that caused people’s death,” Mr. Glaz added.
According to the press secretary, predictably, such ‘good advice’ and ‘good services’ resulted in the change of measure of restraint. “The actions of the staff of the Polish Consulate General directly violate a number of provisions of the Vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations. They violate Belarusian laws, just as they would violate laws of any other country. They are incomprehensible for a consul or a diplomat. Actually, an official – who should act as an example of legality and who has the right, for example, to visit penitentiary and closed institutions – deliberately violates the law. This is aggravated by the fact that they knew of the death of people,” Mr. Glaz said.
“We sincerely hope that this is an isolated case that does not reflect on the Polish Foreign Ministry’s work as a whole. At the same time, we see no possibility for the consular officer to continue his work on the territory of Belarus. We will also inform our foreign partners about the incident. We hope our Polish colleagues will draw the appropriate conclusions,” the Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s press secretary noted.
