Poland’s prosecutor general has filed a motion to waive the parliamentary immunity of an opposition MP so that she can face criminal charges for protesting in a church against a near-total ban on abortion.
The MP, Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus of The Left (Lewica), is accused of the crimes of “offending religious feelings” and “maliciously interfering with the public performance of a religious act”. They each potentially carry prison sentences of up to two years.
The incident in question took place on 25 October, the first Sunday after Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal issued a ruling that would ban almost all abortions in Poland. That day, some of those who taking part in protests against the ruling demonstrated inside churches.
Among them were Scheuring-Wielgus and her husband, Piotr Wielgus. During morning mass, they entered the church in Toruń where they had married 17 years earlier. Standing in front of the altar, they held up signs calling for women to have the right to decide on abortion, “and not the state in support of Catholic ideology”.
Kocham mojego męża bo zawsze mnie wspiera i zawsze stoi po stronie kobiet. Dzisiaj zostawiliśmy więc #SłowoNaNiedzielę w kościele św. Jakuba w Toruniu, w którym braliśmy ślub 17 lat temu. #KobietyDecydują pic.twitter.com/aXCqBWMxNe
— J. Scheuring-Wielgus (@JoankaSW) October 25, 2020
Yesterday, the prosecutor general, Zbigniew Ziobro – who also serves as justice minister – filed a request to the speaker of parliament for Scheuring-Wielgus’s immunity to be waived, reports TVP Info.
The move came in response to a request from prosecutors in Toruń, who received a number of notifications of crimes being committed by the MP and her husband. One of those complaints came from the city’s Catholic curia itself, according to the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Priests and worshippers have reportedly testified that the behaviour of Scheuring-Wielgus and her husband prevented them from participating in the service.
Jeśli chodzi o groźby odbierania immunitetu, to w zasadzie jestem weteranką i można powiedzieć, że przywykłam. Bo to już trzeci raz.
Panie @ZiobroPL jeśli chciał mnie pan przestraszyć, to sorry. Nie udało się. Pańskie pohukiwania są co najwyżej śmieszne 💁♀️ #KobietyDecydują pic.twitter.com/Haq3aX4zC1— J. Scheuring-Wielgus (@JoankaSW) December 21, 2020
Scheuring-Wielgus says that she will fully address the accusations once she receives details from prosecutors. But today she tweeted that she is a “veteran” of attempts to strip her of immunity. “Mr Ziobro, if you wanted to intimidate me, sorry but you failed,” wrote the MP.
She also received support from party colleague Robert Biedroń. The MEP suggested that, if prosecutors want to investigate crimes in churches, they could find much “worse deeds” committed by those wearing “characteristic costumes” – a reference to recent revelations regarding sex abuse by priests.
Zbigniew Ziobro zabrał się za przestępstwa w kościołach, ale zaczął od ścigania @JoankaSW za przyniesienie plakatu.
Mała podpowiedź: w kościołach można spotkać grupę, która dużo częściej popełnia dużo gorsze uczynki. Łatwo ich rozpoznać po charakterystycznych strojach#MuremZaJSW pic.twitter.com/6dAqmVd8Bl— Robert Biedroń (@RobertBiedron) December 21, 2020
Organisers and participants in the abortion protests – which are the largest demonstrations in Poland’s post-communist history – have faced a number of legal threats.
Shortly after the protests began, the national prosecutor’s office instructed prosecutors to seek to bring charges against protest organisers for “causing an epidemiological threat” during the pandemic, a crime that carries a sentence of up to eight years’ imprisonment.
Last month, prosecutors in Warsaw confirmed that they were investigating whether the organisers had endangered public health, insulted Catholics, and incited illegal actions.
Main image credit: Twitter/JoankaSW
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.
