Poland calls on Russia to take ‘firm action’ over graphic Smolensk disaster photos

Smolensk air disaster: photo -wikipedia

”Poland expects the Russian authorities to take firm action, with an immediate investigation into the matter and punishment of those reponsible for leaking [the images],” a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed.

The pictures were taken in the immediate wake of the crash that killed 96 Poles – including President Lech Kaczynski - on the morning of 10 April 2010.

The graphic photographs of some victims may have been taken by Russian soldiers, firemen or other functionaries, although no concrete information has been disclosed as of yet.

According to Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW), the pictures surfaced on Russian web sites as early as 28 September 2012, and some sites have already removed the images.

However, press spokesman for ABW Maciej Karczynski noted that the pictures had spread to Ukrainian, German and American web sites.

Although Russia and Ukraine are proving effective in blocking the pictures after requests from ABW, Karczynski told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the security services in Germany and America ”informed us that they cannot block these sites, due to legal restrictions in these countries.”

Speaking to Polish Radio on Monday, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski reiterated an appeal to Polish media outlets to refrain from publishing the pictures.

Sikorski reflected that ”it is against their commercial interests’’ to reject the pictures, but noted that until now, the Polish media had ‘’respectfully’’ acted unanimously. (nh)