June 07, 2010
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News: Crash Victim Becomes Victim of Card Theft
According to the Polish media, a victim in the April 10, 2010 Air Force airplane crash in Smolensk has been violated again even after his death. Three Russian Police Officers are being held in the alleged theft of Andrzej Przewoznik's credit card. Przewoznik, historian and head of Poland's Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites was killed in the crash of Poland's president aircraft Tu-154 that took 96 lives near the city of Smolensk, Russia including the Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his wife. Officials believe the Russian police officers stole the credit card from the airplane crash site. The three police officers allegedly used the Polish official's credit card on several occasions including on the same day as the fatal crash. Earlier reports indicated that the three suspects were members of the OMON, a group of Russian special purpose police officers that had responded to the plane crash. However, corrected reports say that the officers being prosecuted for the theft are members of the regular conscripted troops.
The three didn't waste any time using the card while racking up nearly 1,400 euros ($1,675) in fraudulent charges. The card was used three times on that day prior to the release of details regarding the crash that killed Poland's president. According to a Russian government spokesperson, Pawel Gras, the three alleged credit card thieves and members of the OMON police force were arrested with “lightning speed” due to the fast and efficient work of the joints efforts of the Polish Internal Security Agency and the Russian special services. The Polish government has not yet released the names of the three OMON police officers accused of stealing the credit card off the airplane crash victim. Meanwhile, the Smolensk Police Department in a contradictory statement denied any arrests were made and said the Polish report was false.
Investigation into the matter has yet to uncover any additional credit card theft including that of Aleksandra Natalli-Swiat, the Deputy Head of the Law and Justice political party which was also missing from the plane crash site. Russian police have been embarrassed by the reports as the country attempts to improve on relations with Poland and respond to Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev's orders to clean up a corrupt Russian police department.