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On the course of the criminal investigation into the Polish aircraft Tu-154 crash near Smolensk

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation continues to investigate the criminal case under part 3, article 263 of the Criminal Code on the fact of the crash of the Polish aircraft Tu-154M tail number 101 which on 10.04.2010 carried out non-regular international flight on rout Warsaw - Smolensk with passengers on board.

The Investigative Committee of Russia is accomplishing eight requests of Polish authorities on legal aid. Earlier executing the requests of Poland the Russian side had already sent 28 volumes copies of the investigative and other procedural actions files. They also have sent to the Polish side 1,110 additional pages of procedural documents copies, including copies of investigative proceedings records carried out in the presence of Polish prosecutors in February 2011; reports of survey and identification of bodies and fragments of bodies discovered at the scene; results of previously designated forensic examinations, which had not previously been sent to the Polish side.

At the same time, Poland so far has partly responded to only 2 of 6 requests of the Russian side, which had been directed by the Investigative Committee to Poland. For example, on the first request for legal aid dated 12 May 2010 Russian investigators received only 7 volumes of criminal cases which contain only 13 answers to 20 questions. In particular, the Polish side did not present a response to an item that claimed professional conclusion on audio recordings along with transcripts of the negotiations composed by Polish specialists, obtained from the copies of the flight recorders, transferred to the Polish side by the Technical Commission of the Interstate Aviation Committee. Moreover the Russian side still has not been informed whether these procedures took place or not. On the second request the Russian investigators received from Poland 9 volumes of files in Polish, which currently are being translated into Russian. However, even now it can be said that the list of these files suggests that the request is executed only partly: details of telephone calls, claimed by the Russian investigators was not sent anyway. In addition, 3 Russian requests for legal assistance, which ask to conduct investigatory actions and other legal proceedings to establish the circumstances of 9 issues relating to criminal investigation, still do not have answers.

The investigators hope that the Polish side will do its utmost for the proper execution of all Russian requests on legal assistance that is needed to establish a complete and objective picture of the crash and its causes. For its part, the Investigative Committee of Russia is ready to go on with cooperation with the investigating authorities of the Republic of Poland.