Poland names Moroccan suspect in 2024 border killing of soldier Mateusz Sitek, suspends investigation as Belarus ignores extradition request

Polish prosecutors have publicly named the suspect in the killing of Sergeant Mateusz Sitek, a 21-year-old soldier stabbed while guarding the border with Belarus, and simultaneously announced the suspension of the two-year investigation.

The attack at the barrier

Sitek, a soldier with the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade, was on duty near Dubicze Cerkiewne in Podlaskie province on 28 May 2024. At 4:27 a.m., a group of migrants attempted to force the steel border barrier. While Sitek used a protective shield to block a breach in the fence, one man reached through the bars and stabbed him in the chest. Branches and stones were thrown at the wounded soldier and a female Border Guard officer who tried to help him.

Sitek was taken first to a hospital in Hajnówka, then transferred to the Military Medical Institute in Warsaw, where he died on 6 June 2024. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant and awarded the Gold Medal for Merit to National Defence.

The suspect identified

On 9 June 2026, Warsaw Regional Prosecutor's Office spokesman Piotr Antoni Skiba issued a statement naming the suspect as Mohamed Addamrou, a Moroccan citizen. Over the course of the investigation, more than 140 witnesses were interviewed in Poland and abroad, and key forensic opinions were obtained.

Based on the evidence gathered, Polish law enforcement authorities have identified the perpetrator of the murder of the Polish soldier, who is a man, a citizen of Morocco — Mohamed Addamrou.

A charge of murder with particular cruelty was filed on 21 July 2025. A court approved pre-trial detention, and authorities launched a search via an arrest warrant and a European Arrest Warrant.

The Belarus dead end

Investigators determined that Addamrou was on Belarusian territory. On 2 December 2025, Poland sent a request to Minsk for his temporary arrest and extradition. Belarusian authorities have not responded to the request. Because the suspect remains outside Poland and the extradition procedure is ongoing, the investigation was formally suspended on 22 May 2026.

The investigation into the murder of Sergeant Mateusz Sitek has been suspended because the Moroccan suspect in this crime is hiding in Belarus and extradition proceedings have been initiated against him.

A case under wraps

According to RMF FM, the investigation was kept entirely secret from the start, with a decision that no information should leak out. The radio station reported that investigators have known the suspect's identity for several months. The portal niezalezna.pl noted that it had been pressing the prosecutor's office for updates and that the case was placed under supervisory oversight by Waldemar Żurek via the Military Affairs Department of the National Prosecutor's Office.

Two-year remembrance

The disclosure came days after the second anniversary of Sitek's death on 6 June 2026. Military units and state officials paid tribute. The 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade recalled the words of the military oath and wrote: "Honour and glory to the Hero. We will never forget." The Armed Forces Operational Command said Sitek "did not retreat a single step in the moment of trial" and that his service and sacrifice "will remain forever inscribed in the memory of Polish Army soldiers and all Poles."