May 02 2008
Mafia-defying woman struggles to make a change
Danuta Olewnik-Cieplinska, sister of a man abducted by a mafia in 2001, now seeks to help victims of their crimes and help the helpless to fight for their rights, writes Wprost.
“You should be an MP”, a parliamentarian told Danuta Olewnik-Cieplinska. She heard these words after her dramatic address to the parliamentary Justice and Human Rights Committee, writes the weekly Wprost.
A sister of a wealthy businessman’s son, who was kidnapped in 2001 and later brutally murdered, she has become an informal leader of a new movement – a movement of disobedience to the mafia.
She did not let herself be intimidated, discouraged and discredited.
The investigation into Krzysztof Olewnik’s kidnapping and killing has become a symbol of indolence, shameful errors and corrupt links between the police and the criminals.
Danuta Olewnik-Cieplinska fought for the life of her beloved brother for five years.
She never gave up and is now seen by helpless people as their spokesperson.
They are craftsmen, businessmen, middle-class representatives, who became wealthy through hard work and then started to be blackmailed by the mafia and corrupt administration.
Already now, the Olewnik family have established a foundation named after the late Krzysztof Olewnik to help victims of crime as well as those who do not know how to fight for their rights.
The family is considering starting a campaign to prohibit giving ransom to kidnappers, a law which led to a dramatic decrease in kidnappings for money in Italy, says Wprost.
Mafia-defying woman struggles to make a change – 02.05.2008 – Weekly press review by Krystyna Kołosowska – http://www.polskieradio.pl/zagranica/news/artykul81537_Mafia_defying_woman_struggles_to_make_a_change.html
