Autopsy confirms Andrzej Lepper's suicide
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
09.08.2011 07:30
Prosecutors have confirmed that no third party was involved in the death of deputy former prime minister Andrzej Lepper, who was found hanging in his office in Warsaw last Friday.
photo - PAP/Tomasz Gzell
The Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into the death of the controversial politician, however, under article 151 of the Penal Code, which states that: "Whoever by persuasion or by aid of a man which leads to an attempt on his life, is punishable by imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years."
The investigation is to be supervised by Poland's Attorney General, Andrzej Seremet.
“The prosecution will examine any hypothesis regarding the death of Andrzej Lepper,” spokeswoman from the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, Monika Lewandowska told journalists on Monday.
One such 'hypothesis' has come from editor-in-chief of the right wing Gazeta Polska magazine, Tomasz Sakiewicz, who says that shortly before his death Lepper told him that he was in fear of his life.
Lepper allegedly also asked Sakiewicz to store sensitive material he had in his possession in connection to a land corruption case that had eventually led to Lepper's dismissal from his post as deputy prime minister in 2007 and the collapse of the Law and Justice-led coalition in which Lepper's party, Self Defence was a junior coalition partner.
Sakiewicz claims that testimony that Lepper was to give to an investigation into the land corruption and bribery scandal at the agriculture ministry which he then headed would confirm the version of events told to the enquiry by prime minister at the time, Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Law and Justice has long alleged that there was an informal network of organised crime and former communist secret service agents which were working in tandem to hinder investigations into their activities.
Sakiewicz has given his testimony to prosecutors.
Gazeta Polska has promised more revelations when it publishes on Wednesday.
Another 'hypothesis' concerning the death of Lepper - who was facing a re-trial of his alleged part in a 'sex for career advancement' case brought against him by a Self Defence' party worker – was that he took his own life after he fell badly into debt.
Andrzej Lepper's funeral will take place Thursday. (pg)