March against violence follows Krakow student murder

Several hundred people took part in a 'white march' against violence on Sunday in Krakow, following the murder of a student in the heart of the city.



Dawid Kornecki was stabbed minutes away from the Main Market Square in the early hours of 7 September while trying to protect his girlfriend in a scuffle which had turned violent.

Archbishop of Krakow Stanislaw Dziwisz led prayers on Sunday at the point where the fatal blows were dealt.

“I wanted to express my solidarity in this manner with the parents of Dawid, and all the young people who came to protest against violence,” the cardinal told reporters, as cited by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

The march followed an unrelated demonstration last week in which football fans called for an end to off-pitch violence between supporters of the city's two main clubs, Cracovia and Wisla.

“If such a thing can happen to somebody who was not connected to any of Krakow's [football] clubs, and who never had anything on his conscience, and was only trying to defend his fiancee then something is wrong and we need to pay attention to this,” Cardinal Dziwisz stressed.

The tradition of the white march in Krakow dates back to Cold War times. In May 1981, following the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, a former archbishop of Krakow, about 500,000 people dressed in white marched through the city.

Meanwhile, 35 year-old Miroslaw L. (full name withheld under Polish privacy laws) is facing a life sentence for the murder of Dawid Kornecki. He was arrested after police studied surveillance footage.

The parents of the deceased have publicly forgiven the defendant for his crime.

(nh)