Man at the centre of strip search row denies being a ‘Covid-denier’

Jez Hemming, local democracy reporter

A man who claims he was “strip-searched” after refusing to give his name to police has claimed Covid-19 vaccines are the first step to “mass human genetic engineering”.

Radek Kotlarek, 39, from Rhos-on-Sea, hit the headlines yesterday after he was arrested following a trip to Talacre with his wife and son for an ice cream.

Footage of Sunday’s arrest was shared on Twitter by Senedd Member Neil McEvoy, who called for an investigation into the arrest.

The dad-of-two was released three hours later and said he is considering lodging a formal complaint against North Wales Police about his treatment.

The force confirmed officers suspected a breach of coronavirus regulations and insisted they acted in a “calm and reasonable way”.

Now posts on Mr Kotlarek’s Facebook have emerged where he claimed coronavirus is “fake”.

In one post last September he called on people to “stand up now and say NO to all this nonsense, including fake pandemic, the future of ourselves and of our children looks very dim”.

In another post, dated January 6, he wrote: “It is misonomy to call the current anti-covid ‘medical’ products vaccines (Pfizer/Moderna/Astra).

“They are the first step to mass human genetic engineering. And it is not ok to
call them ‘safe’ for the effects of these injections will remain unknown for years to come.

“Think twice before you accept the official narrative and thrice before you say yes to  the ‘vaccination opportunity’ offer!”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) Mr Kotlarek insisted he was not a “Covid-denier”, despite the posts made on his Facebook account.

‘Disproportionate’

The public relations professional claimed government measures to tackle the infection are “disproportionate” and the “media narrative over-exaggerated”.

He said: “It’s not like I am against the vaccines, they’re great, but people should be given a free will whether they want to accept it or not.”

When asked if his confrontation with North Wales Police on Sunday was planned  he said: “No, absolutely not.”

He said the trip was needed because of the mental “trauma” the family had endured over his brother-in-law’s serious illness and family deaths in Poland, where they were unable to return to attend the funerals.

He said his long-held view was all vulnerable people should be protected from the virus but that lockdowns should be lifted and and society opened up.