Poland probes a possible plot to kill Prime Minister Tusk
Security services call the information credible and highly likely to be acted on, but have not said who is behind it or how they learned of it.
Police in Poland are investigating a tip about a possible assassination attempt against Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the country's special services, announced it on Sunday, Oct. 11, according to Al Jazeera.
The State Protection Service, the body that guards senior officials, detected the threat and passed it to police, said Interior Ministry spokeswoman Karolina Gałecka. That same day, the service, police, the Internal Security Agency and ministry representatives met in an emergency session. The services describe the information as "credible" and carrying a "high probability" of an attempt, according to Notes from Poland.
Authorities have not said where or how an attack might happen, who is responsible, or where the tip came from. Part of the threat arrived by email, according to Radio Zet, cited by Al Jazeera. Government spokesman Adam Szłapka told broadcaster TVN that "it was not just an email" and that this threat is more disturbing than earlier ones. No arrests have been reported in this case, and neither Tusk nor Kosiniak-Kamysz had commented.
The warning comes in a NATO country that borders Ukraine and Russia, after a tense week: three knife attacks at schools left one person dead and several injured. Since Friday, officers have checked more than 64 000 locations, schools included, and detained more than 100 people, most of them teenagers, over threats or carrying weapons. The sources consulted do not link those arrests to this threat.
The newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, citing anonymous sources, says Polish far-right extremists would be behind it. Authorities have not confirmed that. Dobrzyński said more information will follow as the investigation advances.
