In a statement published on Tuesday, the ministry said that it is “constantly monitoring” the progress of the post-mortem investigation.
The 27-year woman, identified as Magdalena Ż. (name withheld under Polish privacy laws) was holidaying alone in Egypt when she started feeling unwell, according to media reports. She reportedly visited two local hospitals before being admitted.
CCTV footage from the Marsa Alam hospital obtained by Poland’s public TVP broadcaster showed the woman acting erratically and kicking at several men identified as hospital staff. She was then seen being dragged away from the scene.
According to the private TVN broadcaster, the woman had purchased two tickets to Egypt for a holiday over the long May weekend, the other ticket being for her boyfriend. However, at the airport, it turned out that his passport was invalid. They decided she would travel alone. A few days into the holiday at the popular seaside resort in eastern Egypt, the woman started feeling unwell.
Her family told TVN that they saw a video of Magdalena Ż. dressed in her bathrobe and huddled in the door of her hotel room. She then allegedly visited a local hospital but was turned away, being told that the doctors “do not deal with mental illnesses”, the family said.
In a video chat with her boyfriend which was seen by TVN, Magdalena is heard repeating “take me away”. The broadcaster added that the travel agent which sold them a ticket for an earlier return flight to Poland said she was denied from boarding the plane due to her “bad health”.
The video showed her telling her boyfriend she could not say exactly what had happened over the previous days.
Magdalena’s mother told TVN that hours later, after hearing that her daughter was in hospital, her family were “calm”. But only hours later they received a phone call telling them that Magdalena had fallen out of a window. She died shortly later.
The family employed the services of Krzysztof Rutkowski, a private detective who has been involved in several high-profile cases in Poland. He has put forward a theory that the victim’s actions in the days leading up to her death were due to drugs in her system, including rape drugs.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Polish foreign ministry said that the Polish consular service “remains in contact with the family of the deceased and cooperates closely and fully with the investigation led by the Prosecutor’s Office [in Poland]”.
The statement added that a Polish consul is currently in Hurghada. “We are doing our best to explain the circumstances of Magdalena Ż.’s death,” the statement said. “We emphasise that it is the responsibility of the Egyptian authorities to clarify the circumstances of the death. On its part, the Polish side seeks full access to information about the inquiry, including medical records which will help ascertain what caused the death of the Polish citizen.”
(rg)