The mayor of a city in Poland has died the day after he was stabbed while on stage during the finale of a large charity event, the health minister said on Monday, reports Euronews.
Pawel Adamowicz, mayor of the city of Gdansk, was attacked in the city during the finale of an event organised by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.
Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski had previously said the 53-year-old was hospitalised and in a very serious condition.
He called the incident “an act of inexplicable barbarity.”
A suspect had been arrested, he added.
Television footage showed the assailant shouting that he was imprisoned, despite being innocent and purportedly tortured by the former government of the Civic Platform, to which the mayor previously belonged.
The mayor, who had held the position since 1998, was seen as progressive has and shown support for LGBT rights and tolerance for minorities.
President Andrzej Duda said Sunday upon hearing of the hospitalisation, that while he and the mayor have had political differences, “today I am unconditionally with him and his loved ones, just as — I hope — all of us compatriots are”.