Defected Polish soldier appeals to Hague Tribunal, requests asylum
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The Polish soldier who defected to Belarus requested Minsk to grant him asylum following death threats if he returns.
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Polish soldiers on the border with Belarus
Emil Ciecko, the Polish soldier who defected to Belarus due to the migrants' ill-treatment at the Belarus-Poland border, said today, Saturday, that he applied to the Hague Tribunal over the rights abuses.
Earlier in January, a human rights organization that represents the Polish soldier in Belarus reported it had requested the International Criminal Court in The Hague to start a criminal case set on a basis of genocide and crimes against humanity for Poland's ill-treatment of refugees, in which Ciecko was a witness.
"I am ready to take responsibility for my actions. My lawyer has already filed an application with the Hague Tribunal. The application has been accepted and the case is likely to be considered," Ciecko said in a video that the organization posted.
Ciecko expressed his condolences following the death of a 22-year-old Polish soldier on the Polish-Belarusian border, which was recently reported by media.
While reports said the preliminary cause of the death was suicide, the defected soldier stated, "The exact circumstances of the death are unknown, but I know that the service in the Polish army and the tasks that have recently been assigned to the soldiers of the Polish army are psychologically difficult and often impossible to complete without leaving a mark on health."
He consequently called on Polish citizens to verify the data related to the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border because what is being reported by Polish media is "often false".
Ciecko was charged with desertion by the Polish authorities, an offense by which a soldier would serve 10 years in prison. The soldier expressed concern regarding returning to his country, Poland, over death threats there and thus requested Minsk to grant him asylum.
