MPs observe a minute's silence in Poland's lower house of parliament (Sejm) in tribute to Grzegorz Przemyk: photo - PAP/Tomasz Gzell
Thirty years ago this month the 19-year-old, who was a son of anti-communist activist and poet Barbara Sadowska, was arrested on the streets of Warsaw after celebrating completing his end-of-school exams.
He was later severely beaten at a police station in the capital.
Przemyk died two days later in hospital, and his funeral turned into an anti-communist demonstration attended by Father Jerzy Popieluszko, who was also murdered by the communist secret services the following year.
Two policemen were acquitted by a Polish court in 1984, and blame was placed on the medics who had attempted to revive Przemyk.
“The perpetrators of the murder escaped justice,” today's resolution in parliament said, “and even after the regaining of independence [with the fall of communism in 1989] there was no success in punishing them.”
Attempts to bring the murderers to justice did not bring about any convictions, however.
In 2009, a Warsaw appeal court quashed a sentence from the previous year that would have seen one of the perpetrators, former policeman Ireneusz Kosciuk, serve four years.
Kosciuk always insisted that he did not know that Przemyk was the son of anti-communist activist Barbara Sadowska.
Today's resolution says that in the initial 1984 case, the communist authorities had spread disinformation about the death.
“On the order of the highest authorities of the communist party and government, evidence was fabricated to put the blame for the death of Grzegorz Przemyk on medics, covering up evidence that indicated the crime was committed by the police.
“The consequence of covering up the crime was the imprisonment of the paramedics and the persecution of Grzegorz Przemyk's family and friends.”
Today's resolution had earlier inspired a complaint from the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) party (which was created from the ranks of former communists), objecting to claims that evidence was covered up “on the order of the highest authorities of the communist party and government.” (nh/pg)
Source: PAP