Prosecutors in Poland have launched their own investigation into the killing of a Polish man in the UK last week, saying that – under its laws – the accused are liable to face trial there.
Six teenagers have been arrested by British police on suspicion of the murder of Arkadiusz Jóźwik – also known as Arek – who died of head injuries after he and another Polish man were attacked in Harlow in Essex last Saturday.
While police have said the motive is unknown, one line of inquiry is the possibility of it being a hate crime.
“Under Polish law, foreigners who commit crimes against Polish citizens are subject to trial before a Polish court,” Warsaw’s regional prosecutor, Jakub Romelczyk, told Poland’s TVP Info public broadcaster.
“Our investigation is independent from legal action taken in the state where the crime was committed.”
According to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency, the Warsaw district prosecutors’ office said on Friday that it planned to ask British authorities for their cooperation.
In a separate development, the Polish foreign ministry said it would raise the issue of attacks on Poles living in the UK with the British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, when he visits Warsaw on Saturday.
That follows a similar discussion between Johnson and his Polish counterpart, Witold Waszczykowski, at a meeting of foreign ministers in Potsdam this week.
Waszczykowski said that, at that earlier meeting, Johnson “promised to address the issue” and gave assurances that the “UK government does not accept the hate action against migrants and it will do everything to protect Poles and other foreigners against aggression”.
The Polish foreign minister has also suggested that an educational campaign should be introduced in Britain “so as to make people aware that Brexit will not mean throwing immigrants out from the UK”.
Speaking at the scene of Jóźwik’s killing on Wednesday, Poland’s ambassador to Britain, Arkady Rzegocki, condemned a rise in xenophobic attacks since the Brexit vote.
“Unfortunately there is much more after Brexit. We have found about 15 or 16 such situations. It is a very important tragedy and we have to work together on this issue.”
He said there would be a march of silence in Harlow on Saturday 3 September, organised by the local Polish community, which he hoped would help.
The local MP, Robert Halfon, called the killing an “incredible tragedy” and added: ”This is not just a tragedy for the family or for Poland, it is a tragedy for Harlow and Britain as well.”
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