A 31-year-old Ukrainian man who attacked people with a knife in a Polish monastery in Yaroslavl has pleaded guilty.
This was reported by the Polish media outlet Wirtualna Polska, citing the spokeswoman for the district prosecutorʼs office in Przemyśl Malgorzata Tatsiukh-Kurasiewicz.
On October 7, experts provided the prosecutorʼs office with a psychiatric report that allowed the Ukrainian to be brought to trial. On the same day, the prosecutor charged Ihor M. and interrogated him.
According to journalists, on October 6, psychiatrists assessed the suspectʼs condition for the third time and determined that he could stand trial. Previous assessments by experts showed that the Ukrainian had a severe mental disorder.
The prosecutorʼs office noted that the new conclusion concerns only whether Ihor M. is capable of participating in criminal proceedings. His mental state and criminal record will be investigated separately by experts.
What preceded
The incident occurred on September 24 in Jarosław, Poland, on the territory of a Benedictine nunnery. The attack killed a priest and injured four others.
Citing sources, the Wirtualna Polska newspaper reported that the motive for the attack could have been revenge against local priests. According to the media, the morning before the attack, a man knocked on the abbeyʼs gate and asked for financial assistance, but was refused.
Eyewitnesses said he was drunk or under the influence of drugs, spoke incoherently, and was dressed very lightly, despite the cold weather.
One of Wirtualna Polskaʼs interlocutors noted that the Ukrainian "went crazy" when he didnʼt receive help. At first, he verbally threatened the priests, and then returned with a machete, with which he attacked the visitors and the priest. Polish law enforcement has not yet reported an official motive for the crime.
Separately, the investigation found that the suspect lives in Germany. On the eve of the attack, he tried to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border, but was refused entry due to the lack of an insurance policy.
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