Ryszard C. moments after his arrest in Lodz last October. Photo: PAP

The man accused of killing an assistant of a Law and Justice MEP in the central city of Lodz last October has been deemed of sound mind by prosecutors.

The accused, Ryszard C. (name withheld in accordance with Polish privacy laws), was put under psychiatric observation towards the end of last year, as prosecutors wanted to determine whether the man was sane at the time of the crime.

The announcement means that taxi driver Ryszard C. will receive no concessions during court proceedings on the killing of Marek Rosiak, assistant to Janusz Wojciechowski MEP, or for attacking Jaroslaw Jagiello, an assistant of Pawel Kowalski, also from the opposition Law and Justice party.

At present prosecutors are refusing to divulge any information on Ryszard C.’s health, or whether the suspect’s alleged claim that he has cancer is true. Soon after his arrest, Ryszard C. stated that he had only "seven months to live."

More recently, it transpired that Ryszard C. was a previously a member of the ruling Civic Platform, which prompted leader of Law and Justice, Jaroslaw Kaczynski to comment that the attack was a ‘hate crime’ directed at members of his party. (jb)

Source: IAR