Polish police release two suspects in murder of Russian artist for lack of evidence

Two Belarusian nationals detained in Poland as part of the investigation into Monday’s assassination of Russian artist and Kremlin critic Semyon Skrepetsky have been released, a spokesperson for the Lublin Prosecutor’s Office announced on Wednesday.

Speaking on Polish television, Marcin Kozak said that no evidence for the men’s involvement in the crime had been found, and that they had been questioned as witnesses before being released. Investigators have not yet identified further suspects.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that the two suspects had been released due to a lack of evidence, but added that “the investigation into the case will continue regarding their possible involvement”.

Skrepetsky, a Russian artist and musician whose real name was Robert Kuzovkov, was shot dead near his home in the eastern Polish town of Biała Podlaska on Monday morning. Prosecutors in Lublin previously confirmed that five shots were fired at the victim, including one to the head, and that two Belarusian nationals were apprehended near the site of the murder while attempting to scale a fence into the town’s Belarusian consulate.

A provocative figure, Skrepetsky was known for his caricatures of prominent figures in Russia and Ukraine, including Vladimir Putin, Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Skrepetsky also produced several paintings mocking figures close to Kadyrov, including his son Adam and the influential “Kadyrovite” commander Apti Alaudinov, one of which, depicted the Chechen leader and his son as pigs, he reposted days before his death. He had been living in Poland since 2021, having left Russia for his own safety.

Just three days prior to his murder, Skrepetsky travelled to Berlin where he staged a protest at the Brandenburg Gate in which he held an icon-like depiction of Putin being cradled by Joseph Stalin to mark Russia Day, the holiday that marks Russia’s “independence” from the Soviet Union.

Speaking on Wednesday, Tusk said that all the circumstances of the case indicated that the murder of Skrepetsky was a “political assassination”, and that if Russian involvement was proven, it would amount to “state terrorism”.

The prime minister added that both the Polish police and the country’s Internal Security Agency had “independently offered [Skrepetsky] protection,” but said that their offers had been declined “for unknown reasons”.