Court punishes driver of van that broadcasts anti-LGBT slogans in Polish cities

A court has punished the driver of a van broadcasting anti-LGBT messages. Such vehicles have become a common sight on the streets of Polish cities, and the ruling has raised the hopes of activists and local authorities that legal ways can be found to stop them.

The vans are run by conservative group Fundacja Pro – Prawo do Życia. They display images of crossed-out rainbow flags alongside slogans linking LGBT to paedophilia. Loudspeakers broadcast similar messages.

The vehicles have sometimes been spontaneously blocked by members of the public. In Warsaw, they have even been violently attacked by a group of LGBT activists, one of whom is facing trial in relation to such an incident.

LGBT rights groups and individuals have also sought to take legal action against the vehicles. But they have generally been hindered by the fact that Poland’s hate crime laws do not cover sexual orientation or gender identity.

Earlier this year, a court in Wrocław dismissed a lawsuit against Fundacja Pro filed by the city’s plenipotentiary for tolerance. The judge said that Fundacja Pro’s anti-LGBT campaign had “an informative and social dimension” as “it illustrates the issue of paedophilia to the public”.

Now, however, a court in the city of Sopot has issued a penalty against the driver of one of Fundacja Pro’s vans. He has been fined 1,000 zloty (€226) – though not for the anti-LGBT slogans themselves, but for violating a prohibition on using sound systems in built-up areas.

The case was brought to court by the city authorities, and today’s ruling was welcomed by the mayor, Jacek Karnowski. “We would like everyone to feel safe in Sopot” and want to ensure that “public [displays] of content that can offend anyone do not go unpunished”, said Karnowski, quoted by Onet.

The head of LGBT rights group Tolerado, Jacek Jasionek, praised Sopot for taking action against the vans and expressed hope that the case would encourage other municipalities to do the same.

“The judgment in Sopot confirms that Polish law offers the possibility of limiting the activities of Fundacja Pro” and helping “LGBT+ people feel a little safer on the streets of their cities”, Jasionek told Onet.

Some other cities – which are mostly under the control of the centrist national opposition – have also pursued similar policies.

“We have been looking for a way to legally remove the vans from the urban space,” the head of Warsaw’s security office, Michał Domaradzki, told Gazeta Wybrocza. “It is clear to us that these slogans are outrageous and unacceptable.”

“The most effective way to fight them seems to be the environmental protection law, which prohibits the use of sound systems,” he added.

The capital’s police have intervened in cases involving the vans a number of times. “We are not passive,” says their spokesman, Sylwester Marczak. However, he adds that in most cases those who have called the police or tried to block the vans are not interested in taking further legal action.

In Gdańsk, however, mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz says that “unfortunately neither I nor the city administration has any tools to prohibit anyone from moving around the city in a private vehicle”. She called on residents offended by the vans to contact the police themselves.

Agata Diduszko-Zyglewska, an opposition councillor in Warsaw, says that cities can do very little other than use “emergency solutions” until there are changes to the laws on hate speech. The latter is unlikely to happen, however, because “at the national level there is no political will to fight hate speech”.

Poland’s national-conservative government has since early last year been leading a vocal anti-LGBT campaign. Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, has warned that opposition calls to introduce new hate crime legislation are an “attempt to take away our freedom”.

As well as its anti-LGBT vans, Fundacja Pro is also known for publicly displaying graphic images of terminated foetuses as part of its efforts to lobby for stricter abortion laws.

Kraków city council last month voted to ban such images. However, the provincial governor – a government appointee – immediately announced that he intended to invoke his right to overturn the ban, saying that it was an infringement of free speech. Once he does so, the issue is likely to go to court, reports Gazeta.pl.

Main image credit: Piotr Skornicki / Agencja Gazeta

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.