Overview
- Russian dissident artist Semyon Skrepetsky, born Robert Kuzovkov, was shot dead in Biała Podlaska and died at the scene after sustaining five gunshot wounds on Monday, June 15.
- Polish authorities said they arrested a suspect near Warsaw who was using a Georgian passport and are now working to identify who may have ordered the killing.
- Two Belarusian nationals detained on the day of the murder were later questioned as witnesses and released without charges after investigators concluded they were not involved.
- Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the slaying as bearing the hallmarks of a political assassination and warned that confirmed state involvement would amount to 'state terrorism,' while prosecutors say they are following several lines of inquiry.
- Forensic teams recovered five shell casings and a nine-millimeter Luger cartridge at the scene, the artist had reported recent threats and appeared on the Myrotvorets list, and the killing near the Belarus border raises security and diplomatic concerns for exiles in Europe.