Polish President to take part in funeral of 'Berlin attack' driver

Speaking to public broadcaster TVP, presidential spokesperson Marek Magierowski said that Duda will participate “not as president, but as someone who will want to directly convey his condolences to the family of the first victim of this terrible terrorist attack in Berlin”.

“It will be an expression of huge respect for Łukasz Urban, who in the eyes of many Poles is definitely a hero, a brave man. The president will attend [the funeral] because he believes that this is his role, and he should be there,” Magierowski said.

On 19 December a Tunisian man drove Urban's truck into a crowd at a Christmas fair in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring 50.

The suspect was shot dead in Milan in a shootout with police a few days later.

Urban's alleged attempt to avoid the inevitable massacre by grabbing the steering wheel while he lay stabbed in the passenger seat, has attracted international attention for his brave deeds.

However, according to the German Bild daily, a forensic report shows that the driver was shot between 4:30 and 5:30 in the afternoon and lost a lot of blood. No official timeline of events has yet been released. (rg)