The Warsaw-Ursynów District Prosecutor’s Office has launched a preliminary inquiry following media reports concerning alleged irregularities at the mortuary of Warsaw’s South Hospital. According to Piotr A. Skiba, spokesperson for the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the proceedings will examine potential offenses related to so-called managerial bribery and the desecration of human remains.
The latest developments in the scandal surrounding Warsaw’s South Hospital have sparked widespread controversy. According to the latest findings published by Portal Zero, Artur Habowski, the hospital’s mortuary coordinator, allegedly posted graphic photographs of human remains on social media, including images of dismembered, burned and decapitated bodies, as well as victims with gunshot wounds. The report also describes accounts from bereaved families alleging that a particular funeral home was being promoted, alongside accusations that private business activities were being conducted on the premises of the public mortuary.
The previous management of South Hospital had already filed a notification with prosecutors concerning, among other things, an alleged breach of medical confidentiality through the publication of photographs taken during autopsies on social media. At that time, prosecutors refused to open an investigation, concluding that no desecration of human remains had occurred because the publications were intended to “promote knowledge of thanatology, causes of death, the effects of injuries, and their manifestations observed during post-mortem examinations.”
The news outlet Onet.pl has since published further allegations concerning the mortuary at South Hospital in Warsaw. According to its report, “illegal trafficking in the bodies of deceased persons” allegedly took place there over recent years, with claims reportedly corroborated by families of the deceased, physicians, and funeral home employees. The owner of “one of Warsaw’s funeral homes” reportedly stated that the practice had been ongoing for years. The report also includes disturbing allegations that bodies were subjected to degrading treatment, including claims that urine was poured onto corpses, as well as accusations that an unlawful price list for services operated within the mortuary.
Earlier today, the new management board of Warsaw South Hospital issued a statement announcing that it had terminated the employment of the mortuary coordinator with immediate effect under Article 52 of the Polish Labour Code, citing serious misconduct on the part of the employee.
Prosecutor’s Office Begins Preliminary Proceedings
Speaking today, Piotr A. Skiba, spokesperson for the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed that the media reports concerning the alleged events at the mortuary had prompted the Warsaw-Ursynów District Prosecutor’s Office to initiate preliminary verification proceedings.
“Taking into account information about incidents of which the prosecutor’s office had not previously been informed by anyone, preliminary verification proceedings have been initiated. These concern the collection of unlawful fees at the South Hospital mortuary, as well as demands for various sums of money from different entities in exchange for allegedly recommending specific funeral homes to the families of deceased persons. These are separate preliminary proceedings concerning a suspected offense under Article 296a §1 of the Criminal Code, namely so-called managerial bribery,” Skiba said.
He added:
“The second matter concerns one particular incident that has attracted considerable public attention but was previously unknown to the prosecutor’s office. It concerns the alleged desecration of the remains of an unidentified person, as described by an anonymous funeral home employee who collected the body from the mortuary. This concerns a suspected offense under Article 262 §1 of the Criminal Code, namely the desecration of human remains.”
Skiba emphasized that, until now, no formal complaint regarding such conduct had been submitted to prosecutors, nor had such allegations emerged during any previous proceedings.
“Given the need to verify and clarify information which, at present, exists in the public domain solely on the basis of reports and information provided by anonymous sources, the available evidence justifies only the initiation of preliminary verification proceedings. It is not sufficient to open a formal criminal investigation, let alone bring criminal charges,” he explained.
The Warsaw-Ursynów District Prosecutor’s Office has appealed to anyone possessing information regarding alleged irregularities at the South Hospital mortuary—particularly relatives of deceased persons, hospital employees, and funeral home staff—to contact the office conducting the preliminary proceedings in order to arrange an interview as soon as possible.
The prosecutor’s office requests that initial contact be made preferably by email or through Poland’s electronic delivery system (e-Doręczenia):
- Email: [email protected]
- e-Doręczenia mailbox: AE:PL-75433-22976-IFUAD-29
- Secretariat (Ko/Pp): +48 261 845 893