Moroccan national Mohamed Addamrou, whom prosecutors accuse of killing Sgt. Mateusz Sitek, does not appear in Interpol’s publicly accessible database, according to a check conducted by Niezalezna.pl. It is unclear whether law enforcement authorities possess an image of the suspect, or whether they requested Interpol to publish the notice publicly.
While on duty, 21-year-old Mateusz Sitek was attacked by one of several aggressive men attempting to breach the border barrier near the village of Dubicze Cerkiewne. The illegal migrant reached through the barrier and stabbed the soldier in the chest. Sitek later died from his injuries on June 6, 2024.
“Published upon request”
A few days ago, after numerous inquiries from our newsroom, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw released a statement on the case. It revealed, among other things, that a European Arrest Warrant had been issued, that the suspect is currently in Belarus, and that the investigation has been suspended. Authorities later confirmed to us that an Interpol Red Notice had also been issued. However, no image of the suspect has been released.
Officials also refused to disclose whether prosecutors possess a photograph of the suspect and, if so, since when.
As verified by Niezalezna.pl, Mohamed Addamrou does not appear in Interpol’s public database under that name or any similar spelling. No such individual can be found among all publicly listed Moroccan nationals either.
According to Interpol’s website, most Red Notices are intended exclusively for law enforcement use. Extracts from Red Notices are published only at the request of the interested country or when public assistance may be necessary to locate an individual, or when that person may pose a threat to public safety. This means that a notice may have been issued without being published in the public database while still remaining accessible to law enforcement agencies in various countries. A Red Notice does not necessarily contain a photograph if one is unavailable.
Publishing the notice in the public database could facilitate locating the suspect and would also provide valuable information for border authorities. It could serve as an instrument of international pressure and make it more difficult for the alleged killer to travel between countries.
For that reason, we sought to determine whether Polish authorities had requested the publication of the notice in Interpol’s publicly accessible Red Notices database and, if so, what the outcome of that request was. If no such request was made, we asked why not. The Military Gendarmerie, which was identified as the competent authority to answer these questions, declined to provide any information, stating that “in the interest of the proceedings, the Military Gendarmerie does not provide information.”