Suspect in murder of former minister Debski arrested by police in Austria

In an operation involving Austrian, German and Polish police, Jeremiasz Baranski, the man accused of ordering the murder of Poland's former sports minister Jacek Debski, has been arrested just outside Vienna. Baranski is believed to be a member of the notorious Pruszkow mafia and a key figure in their alcohol and cigarette smuggling operations. The Austrian authorities are currently verifying whether he acquired his Austrian citizenship legally. If not, he will be extradited to Poland. If he did, then he will be tried in Austria, since by ordering the murder from Vienna he would have committed a crime under Austrian law. Debski was shot on the night of April 11 in Warsaw. Telephone records show he had talked to Baranski earlier in the day. (Rzeczpospolita, July 7-8, p. A3) T.J.