Bartek Krakowiak: From professed convert to troubled vandal at Medjugorje

Following the recent vandalism at the famous Marian shrine of Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, authorities arrested alleged perpetrator Bartłomiej Włodzimierz Krakowiak, a 31-year-old Polish national with a troubled past.

Krakowiak was apprehended in the village of Cerno, near Ljubuški, shortly after the incident on July 28. A local man, Ivan Vučić, recognized and detained him before handing him over to the authorities. Bosnian judicial authorities have charged him with damaging or destroying religious property. He could face a prison sentence ranging from six months to five years.

A hearing was held July 30 in which the prosecution proposed ordering the accused held in pretrial detention “due to the risk that he might flee or repeat the offense,” according to the local outlet Avaz .

The prosecutor reported that Krakowiak “showed no remorse during questioning” and stated that, through the attacks, he sought to demonstrate “that the visions are a fraud and that the whole thing is a fabrication.” The Polish national declined legal representation during the hearing and, according to local media, said he wanted to remain in prison.

A difficult childhood “Bartek,” a common…