Russia 'deliberately' caused plane crash that killed President: Poland

Prosecutors in Poland have accused Russia of "deliberately" causing a plane crash which killed the Polish President and 95 others, claiming they have "proof", media reports said.

Poland's national prosecutor Marek Kuczynski said there is "no doubt" that one of the causes of the 2010 crash, which happened in Smolensk, Russia, was due to the behaviour of a Russian official in the control tower, Dailymail online reported.

Deputy prosecutor Marek Pasionek added two air traffic controllers were guilty of "deliberately causing an air traffic catastrophe" and said the third Russian official present was guilty of "assisting" in the deliberately caused accident.

Polish investigators have said they want to question the men but cannot reveal details about the evidence until that happens.

The plane crash, which took place on April 10, 2010, killed President Lech Kaczynski and 95 people, many of who were top Polish state and military leaders.There were two major investigations into the crash separately carried out by Poland and Russia.

While the Polish investigation blamed the disaster on a combination of factors, including bad weather and errors made by a pilot who was not adequately trained on the plane he was flying, the

Russian investigation at the time put all blame on the Polish side, finding no fault with the Russian air traffic controllers.

A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin has rejected the accusation saying "the circumstances of this tragedy have been thoroughly studied" and "we cannot agree with such conclusions".

--IANS

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