Attempted suicide fails

A military prosecutor in western Poland shot himself in the head after defending the work of his office and rejecting planned reforms, officials and media said yesterday.

Colonel Mikolaj Przybyl survived the shooting that happened inside his office in the city of Poznan, minutes after he read a statement to reporters and then asked them to briefly get out.

Przybyl is a deputy head of the prosecutor's office in Poznan and the head of a local department investigating organised crime in the army.

A footage broadcast by TVN24 station, whose camera was left rolling after reporters left, shows Przybyl walking across his office and out of sight before a gunshot can be heard.

Hospital director Leslaw Lenartowicz said Przybyl is in stable condition, conscious, and his life is not in danger. Przybyl suffered injuries to the face, he said.

Chief Military Prosecutor Krzysztof Parulski said that Przybyl was one of the "best prosecutors" and a "man of honour".

President Bronislaw Komorowski and Justice Minister Jaroslaw Gowin were closely monitoring an investigation into the shooting, their offices said.

Some lawmakers are calling for a special parliament probe into the case, saying that Przybyl's statement suggests a massive corruption problem in the army.