I have lived in the UK for 10 years (now 29). 2 years ago I had a phone call from Poland, it was a lady asking me to go to Krakow to be interviewed as a witness to a crime. As I had no idea what she was talking about, I asked her what the crime was and she said she couldn't speak to me about it on the phone.
I just told her I couldn't drop everything and fly back, she kind of agreed and that was that! Today, I get a letter from a prosecutor in Poland, asking me to be interviewed in Krakow in June, as a suspect! It gives a specific date but tells me nothing about the case or anything. I have no idea what it's all about, I haven't even been in Poland since I was a teenager.
Has anyone ever had something like this happen to them? I am really worried, I have tried to contact a solicitor in the UK but I am struggling to find one
I think you have invented this story or someone is trying to cheat on you. To make people believe in what you say, write down the letter from the prosecutor here first or make a scan of it and put it on the forum.
i can promise you I am not making it up and i am aware it sounds bizarre....it came in an official envelope with the orange seal. but it just makes no sense
I will post some lines from it when i get home (I am not sure if it was an orange seal or an orange envelope, my wife opened it for me as i am at work). My thoughts when i had the phone call 2 years ago was that it was a scam, but why have a letter? Surely if i was a suspect in something I would be interviewed by the Police.
I have emailed a polish solicitor in Manchester for advice
The polish courts and esp prosecutors office is corrupt. The real suspect may have bribed someone and now they need to charge someone else even if the evidence is flimsy and its a losr caust in a court. As long as they charge someone they did their job regardless of how things go at trial. You have the right to remain silent and not tell them a word. Hire a polish attorney to call/write the prosecutor and tell them till you have more info youre not coming in to talk and drive home the fact you haven't been.to poland since a teenager. The reason theyre not telling you anything is two reasons theyre following iprotocol of its an active investigation but even more likely they may not want to tell you anything so you come in and then they arrest you on the spot.
A private investigator will tell you if you have a warrant as well or not. Depending on their connections they may even be able.to find out exactly what the police have on you and what is in the indictment.
The amount of innocent people that are wrongfully convicted is staggering. Atleast in us and many other countries if you're later found innocent youll get millions for doing a bid unjustly. That is not the case with poland. In fact they may even purposely keep you there to avoid embarrassment.
Honestly I wouldn't go back to poland anytime soon as if there is a warrant youll be arrested at the airport.
You need a Polish attorney and pi, not a british one. They won't be of any help as one its outside their jurisdiction and two its a different legal system.
This sounds even more unreal, extremely unreal in my view ...
The Polish prosecutor usually requires an address in Poland. If a person lives abroad they require the person's representative in Poland having a Polish address. The fact they send a letter abroad is very unusual, as foreign territory is under foreign jurisdiction, so the Polish prosecutor should act through the authorities of the country involved rather than send letters directly to a Polish national in that country.
my father who i have not seen since i lived in Poland, still lives there. surely they wouldn't have left it 2 years from the phone call to then send a letter. thanks for your reassurance
If I remember well in Denmark you can check online if there is a case. It might be fine same system in Poland. People would not need to worry then before come to Poland.
Where does it explain it doesn't apply to the court? Was the op to be interviewed in the court of law two years ago? It might have been the police station - unless I missed something.
As for the envelope, it might be szara koperta which kind of looks orange.
Anyway it's best to sort it out and contact them .
A charge and indictment occurs prior to setting foot in a court.
@Ziemowit None of your business but since you like sticking your nose in strangers affairs, case dismissed - nolle prosequi
@kaprys Cops will almost never give out info over the phone esp of its am active investigation or if op has a warrant.
Do not contact them yourself. Get a polish lawyer. Anything that you say on the phone or in person to a cop can be used against you. **** the police in us and everywhere else
Where does it explain it doesn't apply to the court?
Read it carefully and you shall certainly see it.
A phone call urging someone to appear in court as a witness would be a most ridiculous thing on this planet and not only in Poland.
I will post some lines from it when i get home (I am not sure if it was an orange seal or an orange envelope, my wife opened it for me as i am at work)
The OP is simply a clown who did not even saw the letter about which he alerted the forum's attention. Clowns of this kind are nor a rarity on the PF, Kaprys, you should develop a more healthy distance between them and yourself.
Tony, the letter as you mentioned in your first post is about giving a witness statement in an investigation. Fairly routine, and unless it's to a major crime, probably not worth making a special journey for. If they're determined (for example to subpoena you for a court case in which you would be a key witness) they would inform you of that.
Some of the 'advice' and comments in this thread is spectacularly bad by the way, especially the nonsense saying you could be arrested at the airport.
If you do have any concerns on that score, the 'wanted list' is online and searchable at: poszukiwani.policja.pl/pos/form/5,dok.html
Oh dear, I need to develop a more healthy distance because I didn't accuse the op of making the story up and tried to come up with a logical explanation? Ok ...
Yes, they can do it on the phone. Google it yourself if you don't believe me. I still can't see where the article, I linked to, says it doesn't apply to the court. Care to quote?
Anyway, the op's gone and doesn't seem to care. Why should we?
If there is a warrant he will he arrested once they run his name. Plain and simple. You need to check your facts.
The op wrote that first they wanted to talk to him as a witness. Then 2 years later they want to talk to him as a SUSPECT. Meaning that IF there is a warrant for his arrest he can absolutely be arrested when they run his name. A polish lawyer will find out what this case is about, whether hes been indicted, etc
Look like you've misunderstood the point of the link; he can check very easily to see if he's wanted. Whether or not they're likely to go that far depends on the nature of the alleged crime; usually they don't.
BTW, even if he's on the wanted list he can still enter Poland via another Schengen country, including by air.
That wouldn't make a difference as far as a Polish warrant goes. An EAW could be executed in any country that accepts them, however the conditions for issuing one are very precise.
And let's not forget that the Irish judge is about to rule on whether they can still be accepted if issued by Poland. English (and Scots) law can use precedent from foreign legal systems, so it's very clear that if the Irish judge in question refuses to extradite the Polish guy in question, the English and Scottish legal systems will probably treat it as a binding precedent until the rule of law issues have been resolved.
whether they can still be accepted if issued by Poland
Belgium puts ones from Poland to the bottom of the pile due to overissuing them to the point where the system is being abused. The three legal systems in Britain do accept the EAW, however I suspect they'd love a legal precedent which allowed them to be easily contested.
BTW, there's also a searchable database for EAWs issued by Poland (and many people subject to EAWs are also on the normal lista gonczy).
This is worth a look: europejskinakazaresztowania.eu/lista-poszukiwanych-europejskim-nakazem-aresztowania-czyli-jak-sprawdzic-czy-na-niej-jestes/
