The lack of any guarantees for the full participation of the Polish representatives in all the activities at the crash site in Smolensk and the failure to return the wreckage of the Tu-154M are the key reasons raised by the Ministry of National Defence (MON) in the notice to the public prosecutor's office against former Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The notice refers to the probability of committing diplomatic treason according to article 129 of the Polish Criminal Code in connection with the investigations of the Smolensk crash.

The Ministry of National Defence (MON)notified the prosecution "on the probability that a crime was committed to the detriment of the Republic of Poland by Donald Tusk," who, acting as the Prime Minister of Poland, "has not fulfilled his official duty." Several examples are listed in the notification such as the agreement to apply just Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention as the legal basis for the investigation of the crash, what in the opinion of MON has prevented the Polish side from full participation in the investigation.

 

According to Defence Minister Antoni Maciereiwcz, Donald Tusk "having the ability and duty as Prime Minister to predict that in these circumstances such actions are detrimental to the interests of Poland" and by acting contrary to the binding agreement of defense ministers of Poland and Russia from 1993 with respect to principles of military air traffic, "has entered into an agreement, allowing application of Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation known as the Chicago Convention. This agreement prevented the full participation of the Polish side in the investigation of the causes of the Smolensk crash." According to Defence Ministry, the Polish-Russian agreement from 1993 should have governed the investigation of the Smolensk crash.

 

According to MON, Tusk also "failed to make the arrangement with the Russian side to ensure full participation of the Polish representatives in all aspects of the investigation activities at the crash site. Consequently, the Russians began to carry out these activities without the participation of the Polish side and then continued restricting or preventing the Polish representatives from participation in subsequent investigation activates."

Next the complaint alleges the omission to take appropriate steps to enforce the return of the wreckage of the Tu-154 m aircraft, its fragments, recordings, as well as other equipment and all flight data recorders to Poland.

According to MON, Tusk acted to the detriment of Poland and jeopardized the interest of Polish citizens, including the families of the victims of the disaster, as well as Polish political interest, by weakening “the position and credibility of Poland in international relations," by weakening public confidence in carrying out a proper investigation into the Smolensk crash, including the ability to accurately determine the causes of the crash and develop preventive measures for the future.

 

According to MON, such actions meet the definition of a crime described in Article 129 of the Criminal Code, which provides for penalty of up to 10 years prison term for a public official, who in relations with the government of a foreign country or foreign organization, works to the detriment of the Republic of Poland.

"The likelihood that a crime has been committed is high because the Prime Minister is authorized to act on behalf of the Republic of Poland in its relations with a government of a foreign country, in this case with the Russian Federation," MON wrote in support of its claim.

"In this case, detrimental consequences of the agreement made by Donald Tusk to the Republic of Poland became evident immediately in the course of the investigation, when the Polish accredited representative and the group of Polish experts were forbidden to perform the photographic documentation the crash site, they were not allowed to participate in the interrogation of witnesses, were prevented from having access to the original data recordings and black boxes. The Polish Accredited Representative Edmund Klich had been informing Prime Minister Donald Tusk on a regular basis about the above problems in his reports. The Minister of Defense then in office also had been receiving this information through the team of Colonel. Miroslaw Grochowski," said MON.

In the opinion of MON, Tusk also failed to assure any arrangements for the release of the key evidence in the case, that is, the wreckage of the Tu-154 m plane, the original data recorders and on-board equipment. According to MON, Tusk did not follow up on the Declaration made by President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev in December 2010 to return the wreckage to Poland by April 10, 2011."

"As a result of entering into an agreement on terms detrimental to Poland, the ability of Poland to seek relief on the international arena was gravely impaired. This includes the effective examination of the Smolensk crash. The loss of prestige and credibility in international relations for the Republic of Poland was glaring. The decisions of the former Prime Minister Donald Tusk jeopardized the interest of the citizens, in particular the interest and welfare of the families of the victims of the disaster," stressed the MON.

Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz stressed that in his view a crime has been committed. "Prime Minister Donald Tusk has contracted with Vladimir Putin an illegal agreement to the detriment of the Polish State and for that he should face justice," he said. The MON complaint applies to the activities of Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland for the period between 2010 and 2014, when Tusk became the President of the European Council.

 

The thread of the alleged diplomatic betrayal is already tested by the the State Prosecutor's Office team investigating the circumstances of Smolensk. The main Prosecutor's Office informed about this investigation back in September 2016. This inquiry concerns actions to the detriment of Poland, for the period 2010-2011, by public officials authorized to act in relations with Russia during the investigation of the causes of the Smolensk crash.

 

An excerpt from the interview with Antoni Macierewicz:

Should Donald Tusk be brought to justice for the negligence from his tenure as the Prime Minister related to the Smolensk crash?

 

I believe this not negligence, this is a crime. Prime Minister Donald Tusk made an illegal agreement with Vladimir Putin to the detriment of Poland, and he should bear criminal liability for it.

 

Aren’t you afraid that this can trigger a great argument: that this is revenge and an attempt of the Polish Government to corner Donald Tusk?

 

No position or function in a Polish or EU organisation exempts from liability for crimes so serious as the ones that Donald Tusk is suspected of.

 

Who should file a report concerning Prime Minister Tusk?

 

It was already filed.

 

Recently, the Military Counterintellingence Service filed a report of a crime allegedly committed during the tender for the repairs of the Tupolev plane.

 

The tender was held in an abysmal way. Suffice it to indicate that the representative of the Polit Elektronik company agreed with Aviakor that the repairs will be effected in Samara and that the Polit Elektronik company will be a party to the agreement a few months before the tender was signed... To put it shortly, this issue was pre-arranged from start to end and Oleg Deripaska, a friend of Vladimir Putin, knew in advance that it would be his company who was going to repair the plain that the Polish president flies in.

 

Should Donald Tusk also stand trial before the court with respect to the agreement that was made by the Military Counterintelligence Service with the Russian Federal Security Service during his tenure?

Those managing the Military Counterintelligence Service in the years 2010-2015 have already been presented with the charge of cooperating with the FSS. The Prosecution is now investigating what was the scope of liability of Donald Tusk for the fact that this cooperation has been on-going for an extended period of time without the consent of the Polish Prime Minister.

 

When asked whether it is The Civic Platform Party who is the centre of disinformation , Macierewicz responded: ‘No. They are simply used to spread disinformation. None of them disposes of sufficient skills that are required to be a disinformation centre. They are the performers only.’ When asked where the centre lies, he said: ‘At the Kremlin.’

Source: Gazeta Polska, Niezalezna.pl, Smolenskcrashnews.com

For more information:

Reuters: Poland accuses EU's Tusk of criminal negligence over Smolensk plane crash

The Telegraph: Poland accuses Donald Tusk of 'illegal agreement' with Vladimir Putin over air disaster

Finacial Times: Polish prosecutors asked to investigate Tusk over Smolensk crash

Financial Times: Prosecutors asked to investigate former PM’s handling of Smolensk air crash aftermath

Radio Télévision Belge: Crash de Smolensk: Tusk accusé à Varsovie de "trahison diplomatique"