The body found in the Vistula River a week ago is that of missing signals officer Stefan Zielonka, Poland’s intelligence agency has revealed.
“We are pretty sure that we have found Stefan Zielonka’s body. His death probably resulted from a personal tragedy,” said Jacek Cichocki from the intelligence agency and added that the final opinion will be given by the Military Prosecutor’s Office, which is conducting the investigation on the case.
A decaying corpse of a man with well-preserved documents identifying him as Stefan Zielonka was found in the Vistula River in the suburbs of Warsaw on 27 April. DNA tests were conducted in order to establish if the body really belonged to the signal officer who went missing in April last year. The Military Prosecutor’s Office will announce the results of the tests soon. Until then an investigation into Zielonka’s mysterious disappearance is ongoing.
Fifty two year-old Stefan Zielonka was a long-serving communications officer with unique knowledge of NATO codes and code names of Polish officers working abroad. Initially Zielonka’s disappearance was linked to depression and suicidal thoughts.
In 2009, Defence Minister Bogdan Klich assured that security of the state and Polish military intelligence is not in danger. Later, however, media reported that the communications specialist had defected to the Russian or Chinese secret services. A French intelligence web site wrote that Zielonka was living near Shanghai, where a ‘new life’ had been organized for him. In March, the Military Prosecutor in Warsaw charged Zielonka with desertion even though the head of the Military Counter Intelligence Col. Janusz Nosek said that “the possibility of such scenario is lower than one in a million.” (mg)
Source: PAP, RMF FM