Security tightened for Polish politicians

Bodyguards have been assigned to protect several Polish politicians after officials found a hit list on the body of a man who killed a conservative party activist last week, several officials said yesterday.

The attacker fatally shot a low-ranking member of the Law and Justice Party and seriously injured another last Tuesday. He shouted during the attack that he wanted to kill the party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of the President who died in the plane crash in Russia earlier this year. The attack and beefed-up security come amid heightened political tensions in Poland following that crash.

Much of the controversy has revolved around Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who has repeatedly railed against the government and accused it of not enforcing stringent security procedures that might have prevented the crash.

Mr Kaczynski also accused the Prime Minister Donald Tusk of bearing moral responsibility for last week's killing. "What happened is the result of a huge campaign of hate against Law and Justice, under way for a long time," Mr Kaczynski said last week, adding that Mr Tusk initiated the aggressive language.

Mr Kaczynski's opponents reject such accusations and instead accuse Mr Kaczynski of sowing trouble. One senator, Stefan Niesiolowski, said last week that Mr Kaczynski has sparked a "cold civil war" and urged him to leave politics.