Poland: Police arrest suspect in murder of Russian artist Semyon Skrepetsky, critic of Putin
According to Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński, the suspect has ties to “large-scale organized crime” and may have committed other crimes in Poland in 2022.
Police working at a crime scene covered by a tarp in Biała Podlaska
Polish police arrested a 36-year-old man on Thursday as the prime suspect in the murder of Russian artist Semyon Skrepetsky, known for his scathing cartoons targeting Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin and other figures in the Kremlin.
Links to “large-scale organized crime”
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński confirmed that the suspect, who was carrying a Georgian passport, was apprehended near Warsaw in the early hours of the morning. According to Kierwiński, the suspect has ties to “large-scale organized crime” and may have committed other crimes in Poland in 2022.
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Skrepetsky, whose real name was Robert Kuzovkov, was shot and killed last Wednesday in the town of Biała Podlaska, in eastern Poland. A man armed with a handgun shot him three times; when he fell to the ground, the assailant approached and shot him twice more at point-blank range.
According to AFP, two Belarusian citizens were detained in connection with the artist’s death but have since been released.
Donald Tusk: “It was likely a political assassination”
Polish authorities have not ruled out the possibility that Russian intelligence services are behind the murder, although they insist that solid evidence is needed. The coordinator of the Polish intelligence services, Tomasz Siemoniak, described this possibility as “a very convincing hypothesis,” but stressed that it must be backed by evidence.
For his part, Prime Minister Donald Tusk noted that the artist’s death “was likely a political assassination.”
“If it was ordered by Russia, this is a very serious matter with international implications,” he added.
Skrepetsky had gone into exile in Poland in 2021, citing fear of political persecution in Russia. Although the Polish government offered him protection on several occasions, the artist refused it. His provocative cartoons, which satirized Putin, Stalin, Ramzan Kadyrov, and even the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, made him a well-known target.
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