On October 19, 2010, Poland witnessed an unprecedented act of political violence. Inside the parliamentary office of the Law and Justice (PiS) party on Sienkiewicza Street in Łódź, an armed man attacked and murdered PiS activist Marek Rosiak. The event shocked the nation and left a lasting mark on Polish political history. Marek Rosiak remains a symbol of the consequences of political hatred. His killer, as revealed today by Telewizja Republika, is now a free man.
Ryszard Cyba entered the Law and Justice office in Łódź armed with a firearm. He fired eight shots at Marek Rosiak, four of which hit the PiS activist. Rosiak stood no chance of survival.
Three Names on the Killer’s List
“Another PiS activist was stabbed with a knife. There was no doubt about the purpose of this heavily armed assailant’s visit to the Law and Justice office,” Niezalezna.pl reported. After his arrest, Cyba claimed he had intended to kill Jarosław Kaczyński, but his weapon was “too small” for that.
“I’m against PiS and wanted to murder him,” he shouted.
Cyba was a former taxi driver and, in the past, a member of the Civic Platform (PO) party. A few months before the murder, he deregistered from his address in Częstochowa. Upon his arrest, authorities found a note listing three names: Kaczyński, Kurski, and Ziobro.
Following the attack, government protection was offered to several politicians across different parties, especially after reports surfaced that Cyba may have also been planning an assassination attempt on a prominent member of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD).
The Shocking Letter from Marek Rosiak’s Killer
The trial confirmed suspicions that the killing was politically motivated. Cyba admitted he had been contemplating murdering politicians since 2007. In 2010, he decided to kill the leader of Law and Justice but concluded that tight security would prevent him. Instead, he entered the party’s office and killed a random party activist.
At one court hearing, Ryszard Cyba brought a handwritten letter:
“First, I would like to apologize to the victims for what I did, but the blame lies with PiS, Jarosław Kaczyński, and Lech Kaczyński, who was late for his flight and, not wanting to miss the Katyn commemoration, caused the Smolensk Crash by forcing the plane’s crew to land in very poor weather conditions at an inadequately equipped airport. In my opinion, Lech Kaczyński is the greatest Polish murderer since World War II. But the ignorant public buys everything. Jacek Kurski is building monuments to a murderer who doesn’t deserve them. Only General Jaruzelski deserves monuments—he governed Poland during the difficult times of communism when we were under Soviet occupation.”
The District Court in Łódź sentenced Ryszard Cyba to life imprisonment. The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict. His earliest possible parole was to be after 30 years. However, as revealed today by Telewizja Republika, Cyba was released after just over 14 years. The next day, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital after threatening others with a dangerous object.