Brigadier-General found with bullet to head laid to rest

Soldiers of the GROM Special Forces unit stand guard over the coffin of the formation's founder: photo PAP/Radek Pietruszka

The funeral mass was held at Warsaw's Church of Our Lady Queen of the Polish Crown, which is the field cathedral of the Polish army, and the government was represented by Minister of Defence Tomasz Siemoniak.

Petelicki was found dead in a garage within his housing block on 16 June, having suffered a single gunshot wound to the head.

The Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office is investigating the matter as a case of suicide at present, but has clarified that the category of inquiry could change if “new circumstances” come to light.

During the funeral mass, Archbishop Slawoj Leszek Glodz reflected upon both Petelicki's career for the communist secret services, as well as his achievements in the democratic Poland that emerged in 1989, noting that it had not been a life of “straight paths.”

Referring to the earlier part of the general's career, the archbishop said that there are no means of telling if Petelicki had had “moral hesitations or doubts concerning whether or not he was just an efficient and effective professional.

“But when the new reality came in 1989, he sided with the worthy, and started to serve [the new regime] with dedication,” he continued.

Archbishop Glodz noted Petelicki's achievements as the founder and first leader of the GROM Special Services formation, which has seen action on Afghanistan and Iraq.

Following the service, the general was laid to rest in the Avenue of Merit at Warsaw's historic Powazki Cemetery.

Meanwhile, Dariusz Slepokura, a spokesman for the Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the investigation into the general's death is likely to last several months. (pg/nh)