Poland charges 43 Russians in Smolensk tragedy case
The Polish prosecutor's office has charged 43 Russian experts who were involved in the autopsy of the bodies of victims of the Smolensk disaster, a 2010 plane crash that killed Poland's political leadership, as reported by the Polish TV channel TVN 24.
The prosecutor's office intends to file a search warrant for more than 40 Russian forensic experts who prepared conclusions after the autopsies of the victims of the Smolensk disaster, said prosecutor Krzysztof Schwartz, who is the head of the investigative group probing the disaster.
According to the prosecutor, 43 Russian experts conducted 61 autopsies on the victims of the plane crash. Their conclusions recorded a large amount of false information.
"The investigation into the facts of false testimony by Russian geneticists and forensic experts is one of several important so-called 'Smolensk proceedings.' We have established that the forensic medical reports on the autopsies of the victims of the disaster, prepared by Russian doctors, contained a lot of false information," said Prosecutor Schwartz.
Despite a request from the Polish prosecutor's office for legal assistance in this case, the Russians stated that they would not cooperate.
"I think we will apply to the court for a search warrant, which is necessary to initiate an international search. We cannot leave these proceedings in such uncertainty," added Prosecutor Schwartz.
Disaster near Smolensk
On April 10, 2010, a Tu-154 plane carrying a Polish delegation crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, en route to mourning events marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn tragedy — the mass execution of Polish citizens by the NKVD.
The plane crash killed 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and senior Polish politicians.
In 2018, a subcommittee in Poland investigating the Smolensk disaster reported that the left wing of the Tu-154M aircraft was destroyed by an internal explosion.
Even earlier, Poland accused Russian air traffic controllers of the Tu-154 crash near Smolensk.