Jadwiga Kaczynska, mother of the deceased Polish president, was told only Tuesday that her son died in a plane crash last month in Russia, after family kept the news from her out of concern about her frail health, an official said late Tuesday, DPA reported.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, twin brother of deceased President Lech, gave his 83-year-old mother the news that her son died in the plane crash on April 10 in Smolensk, Russia.
Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria, along with 94 others, were killed in the crash.
The Kaczynski family had kept the news from Kaczynska after doctors advised against it, saying it would be dangerous to her health.
Since the crash, Jaroslaw said he will run in the country's presidential elections, which will be held early on June 20 because of the crash.
Jadwiga took news of her son's death "very badly, but not tragically," reported the daily Rzeczpospolita, citing an anonymous source.
"(Jaroslaw) was in that role which none of us can imagine," Elzbieta Jakubiak, head of Jaroslaw Kaczynski's presidential campaign, told TVN 24 on a talk show late Tuesday. "I really sympathise with him today, but I also think this is a relief for him. It's also a relief for the mother, who should know about this."
Jadwiga suffers from heart and lung disease and has been hospitalised in Warsaw since March.