Shredding and destruction of 400 reports critical to the Smolensk crash investigation prompts Ministry of Defense to notify the Prosecutor's Office
Macierewicz: Documents concerning the destruction of reports regarding the Smolensk crash will be declassified by Defense Minister and the matter will be reported to the Prosecutor
SCND: February 6, 2016
Minister of Defense Antoni Macierewicz announced on Friday that Poland's Prosecutor General Office will be notified in the the matter of “destruction of all reports concerning the Smolensk crash, which arrived to the Polish Army General Staff on April 10," 2010. The minister decided to declassify the document reporting the destruction of these critical communications.
The document, describing the destruction of these reports (source: PAP - Polish Press Agency), was declassified and will be released to the public. All reports concerning the Smolensk crash, that arrived from the field officers to the office of the Army General Staff on April 10 (2010), were destroyed. There were more than 400 pages [that were destroyed] - Macierewicz said to the reporters in Amsterdam.
The destruction of these reports was carried out in two phases: at the end of 2011, and in early 2012. At first, the documents were shredded. [This was] followed by their complete destruction, so that they could not be recovered in any way - he added, and continued:
This is only but one, albeit very shocking, example of the types of activities that aimed at hindering, or even preventing discovery of what truthfully caused the Smolensk tragedy - it was fortunately, unsuccessful.
Asked whether the report of this matter will be reported to the Prosecutor Office, the Minister replied:
This is obvious.
On Thursday, the Defense Ministry resumed its investigation of the Smolensk crash. A special sub-committee established within the Commission for Investigation of National Aviation Accidents (Pol. abbr. KBWLLP) has been created. Its goal, as announced by the minister, is to examine the "totality of the Smolensk crash." The sub-committee is scheduled to convene on March 7, 2016.
During the press conference in Warsaw on Thursday , the head of the Ministry of Defense enumerated facts that were hidden during the original official investigation of the crash. These included "the destruction of more than 400 information cards and reports, which were delivered on April 10 to the General Staff of the Polish Army”. The Minister stated that such illegal activities "fundamentally altered the overall picture of the events [that took place on April 10, 2010].”
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