Warsaw hospital morgue accused of running illegal funeral business, Kaczyński brands it 'NekroAfera'

Allegations surface

Media reports on 30 June 2026 detailed that the morgue at Warsaw's South Hospital (Szpital Południowy) operated an illegal funeral business under coordinator Artur Habowski. The portal zero.pl, citing families of the deceased, hospital staff, and funeral industry sources, said Habowski directed grieving relatives to a specific funeral home linked to his business partner and obstructed those who chose other providers. One witness reported being led past other bodies without warning before identifying her mother. Habowski also allegedly posted graphic images of dismembered human remains on social media; some photos, according to a hospital source, may depict patients from the morgue.

Political firestorm

The revelations drew an immediate response from Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party. On social media platform X, he wrote:

“The South Hospital and further scandalous reports about the practices there bring to mind the case of the 'skin hunters'. Everything happened under the supervision and watchful eye of KO politicians. #NekroAfera shows like a lens what Tusk's rule leads to.”

Konfederacja MEP Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik also condemned the practices as "disgusting, putrid and sick" and alleged that the morgue was used for film shoots and unauthorized embalming training on patients' bodies.

Prosecutor's findings

Piotr Antoni Skiba, spokesman for the Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office, said that two investigations are underway. One concerns the alleged falsification of 20 death certificates between 22 August and 9 September 2025; no charges have been filed so far. The other, into the placement of a bugging device in a morgue office where families met with staff, was closed this month after the device was found to contain no recordings and the affected employee, who no longer works there, did not request prosecution. Skiba added:

“No charges have been filed yet. The evidence was analyzed, witnesses were interviewed, and such practices were not confirmed.”

The prosecutor's office examined whether funeral services were offered inside the hospital, but no evidence of illegality was found.

The 'skin hunters' echo

Kaczyński's reference is to a 2002 scandal in Łódź, where ambulance staff allegedly accepted bribes from funeral homes for information about deaths and were accused of hastening patients' deaths. That case led to a legal ban on offering or advertising funeral services inside hospitals, now codified in Article 13 of Poland's Law on Medical Activity.

Wider scandal

The South Hospital had already been under fire for reportedly fast-tracking politicians from the ruling Civic Coalition (KO) in its emergency department and for the falsified death certificates. Former director Anna Łukasik was dismissed after the scandal erupted.