We previously reported the death of the witness after grueling 5 hours of interrogation. Ms. Skrzypek was interrogated in the civil case by a prosecutor and two lawyers representing a suing party without legal representation. Three days later, she died of a massive heart attack.
The prosecutor has provided conflicting and possibly untruthful information about the interrogation and the reasoning behind not allowing Barbara Skrzypek's lawyer to be present. Since the whole case is highly politicized, Skrzypek was an assistant to the leader of the opposition party, the President of Poland got involved. He sent a letter to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, published today, in which he asked seven questions:
1. What were the reasons for appointing prosecutor Ewa Wrzosek as the referent of the so-called "two towers" case, and who initiated it? Did the National Prosecutor's Office supervise the proceedings in question?
2. What was the justification for the decision to refuse participation in the questioning of Barbara Skrzypek of her attorney?
3. Were other witnesses also refused the opportunity to participate in the questioning by their attorneys in these proceedings?
4. How long did the questioning of Ms. Barbara Skrzypek last? Were breaks ordered during it? Was the request for a break refused?
5. Was the interview recorded?
6. Who prepared the interview transcript?
7. Did Mrs. Barbara Skrzypek read the minutes herself?
Here is why the above questions have to be asked. It appears that two paragraphs out of four in the prosecutor's office statement were not precisely accurate:
...we kindly inform you that the questioning lasted about 4 hours, began at 10:00, during the questioning a break of several minutes was ordered for rest.
The questioning took place in a very civilized atmosphere. None of the participants submitted comments, reservations, or requests to correct the minutes.
The prosecutor herself prepared the interview transcript, not the sworn transcriptionist. There are two "official" versions of the length of the interrogation: four and almost five hours. The transcript is nine pages long, with only half of it from the actual interview, which gives less than a page per hour.
The transcript lists the start and end times of the interrogation but does not mention any breaks.
Mrs. Skrzypek was reportedly unable to read the transcript because she was experiencing problems with her vision, which her attorney reported, listing them as one of the reasons he should have been present at the interrogation.
One last thing. The prosecutor in the case repeatedly expressed her strong disapproval, if not outright hatred, of the opposition party and its leader on social media.
Also, we know that Mrs. Skrzypek died of a heart attack because the prosecutor's office, without her family's consent, ordered a coroner's examination after pro-government commentators spent the whole of Monday peddling the theory that she was poisoned by her boss against who she supposedly testified, which, according to the "transcript" was not true.
PN: So much for "democracy." It appears to me that in the last 14 months, the EU-supported, left-leaning, anti-Trump government erased all the democratic gains made in the previous 30+ years since the collapse of communism. That has to be some kind of record.
- Based on reporting by Dorzeczy(.)pl
