Woman goes on trial in Poland for praising Russia’s war against Ukraine on social media

A Polish woman who praised Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war against Ukraine in social media posts has gone on trial in the city of Wrocław. She is accused by prosecutors of publicly praising a war of aggression, a crime in Poland that carries a prison sentence of up to five years.

“The lack of integrity and truth in the government of Ukraine is the same as in Poland, I believe in Russia’s victory and help for us Slavs,” read one of the posts, quoted by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. “Thank you in advance and I am praying for Russia.”

“President Putin has taken the lead of all the nations oppressed by Zionism,” said another. “He became the head of all the Slavs. Maybe Poland will free itself from the oppressors.”

Those were among a series of posts made between 25 February 2022 (the day after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine) and 12 May 2022 by 59-year-old Marzena T. (whose surname cannot be published under Polish privacy law).

During a court hearing this week, the woman pleaded not guilty, saying that she had published the content due to fears for her children and under the influence of meditation.

“A woman hears that war has broken out. What does such a woman, who has two sons, feel? Fear. Maybe if I had daughters, this fear would not be there – but I have two sons,” said the defendant, crying, reports local news service Tu Wrocław.

Asked about antisemitic content in the posts – one of which said that “Ukrainians have no idea that they are ruled by Jews” – the defendant explained that everything is controlled by a world government. But she added that her grandfather was Jewish, so she is also part Jewish.

The judge also asked about the meaning of the phrase “onions and garlic are behind it” in a post that read: “I do not support Bandera’s Ukraine. Wake up, onions and garlic are behind it. Ukrainians take responsibility for the genocide against the Polish people.” Marzena T. said she could not explain some posts.

The judge presiding over the case, Artur Kosmala, has ordered a psychiatric examination of the defendant to determine her “state of sanity or insanity in relation to the alleged acts”.

Marzena T.’s Facebook posts initially came to the attention of authorities during a separate trial she faced for refusing to take part in the 2021 national census.

Main image credit: Tomasz Pietrzyk / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.