Polish ex-minister murdered

Prime Minister Buzek (pictured) sacked Debski last year

WARSAW, Poland -- Poland's former sports minister has been killed in the Polish capital by a gunmen.

City detectives say they are treating Jacek Debski's killing as an assassination.

Debski was gunned down after leaving a city restaurant. He was found lying injured in a pool of blood near a bridge over the Vistula river but died in hospital.

Warsaw police spokesperson Dariusz Janas said: "At the moment everything we have suggests it could have been an assassination."

Police are questioning several people who accompanied Debski in a nearby restaurant and are looking for possible witnesses to the attack.

Debski, a member of the Solidarity political bloc, served as sports minister from 1997 until February 2000 but was sacked from the government last year for accusing a party colleague of blackmail.

He alleged that Solidarity illegally searched for evidence that could compromise President Aleksander Kwasniewski, a former communist.

Solidarity denied trying to launch a smear campaign against Kwasniewski, who went on to win a second presidential term in elections last autumn with an overwhelming majority.

Debski also fought against the leadership of the Polish Soccer Association for refusing to allow an investigation into alleged mismanagement. He succeeded in forcing the union to reform and elect new authorities.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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