In tears and shock, Poland bids farewell to murdered mayor
Poles will gather on Saturday in the Baltic port city of Gdansk for the funeral of murdered liberal mayor Pawel Adamowicz, whose public stabbing has raised questions about hate speech in politics in the country.
Around 3,500 people, including Polish President Andrzej Duda and EU Council President Donald Tusk, a longtime friend of Adamowicz, are due to attend the ceremony.
Duda has announced a day of national mourning.
Adamowicz, 53, was stabbed in the heart in front of hundreds of people at a charity fundraiser last weekend by an ex-convict wielding a knife.
The 27-year-old attacker, who reportedly has a history of mental illness, had previously been sentenced to more than five years in jail for armed robbery.
Recently released, the man claimed he was wrongly imprisoned by the previous government -- led by the centrist Civic Platform (PO) party, to which Adamowicz once belonged.
For many Poles, the mayor's murder cannot be solely blamed on the knifeman but also the prevalence of online hate speech and toxic divisions between the main political parties.
"It's hatred that killed Pawel," PO leader Grzegorz Schetyna told lawmakers on Wednesday.
"A well-organised, crazy hatred directed at a man who with the help of thousands of Gdansk residents was building this great, proud and free city," he added.
Politicians from PO and the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party have traded barbs for years, as have their supporters online, with critics accusing the government of tacitly condoning the atmosphere of hostility.
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