Three presenters have resigned from Radio Szczecin, a state broadcaster accused of helping publicly identify a 15-year-old sexual abuse victim who subsequently took his own life. Meanwhile, around half the station’s staff have signed a letter of protest to its management.
The boy in question, Mikołaj Filiks, was the son of an opposition MP, and critics have accused Radio Szczecin of identifying him as part of a politically motivated attack on his mother and her Civic Platform (PO) party. Public broadcasters in Poland are under the influence of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
However, politicians and media linked to the ruling camp have argued that Mikołaj’s suicide was the result not of Radio Szczecin’s reporting, but of his abuse at the hands of a politician and LGBT activist belonging to the same party as his mother. They say the opposition are now trying to distract from that fact.
The suicide of the 15-year-old son of an opposition MP has sparked grief but also anger towards the ruling party and media associated with it, whose reporting helped publicly identify the boy as the victim of sexual abuse https://t.co/CMhwFMOpfq
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 5, 2023
In a statement issued by its management board on Wednesday, Radio Szczecin said that it would “refrain from commenting…on the circumstances of this tragedy” due to an ongoing investigation by prosecutors and out of respect for the wishes of Mikołaj’s family.
However, it added that “we are terrified and overwhelmed by the amount of hate [directed] against employees of Radio Szczecin”. The board called for a “calming of emotions and mutual respect that will allow us to investigate all the circumstances of the tragedy without unfair judgements”.
The previous evening, an unknown perpetrator or perpetrators had poured red paint over the front door of the broadcaster’s building, adding a message saying “You have blood on your hands”. The next day, the same thing happened at PiS’s local headquarters in Szczecin.
Siedziba pis w Szczecinie oblana farbą. Macie krew na rękach pic.twitter.com/tpb7eXc6QB
— Jadwiga 🇵🇱🇪🇺🇮🇪 (@Jadwiga26924110) March 10, 2023
On Thursday, a group of 40 employees of the station, including some of its biggest names, signed a letter addressed to the broadcaster’s management as well as to Poland’s state broadcasting regulator, KRRiT.
“We want to say out loud that NOT EVERYONE at Radio Szczecin agrees with the involvement of public media in the political struggle,” they wrote. “We represent a group of people who want to officially say NO to activities that are far from professional ethics.”
The group expressed their “opposition to the collective responsibility, hate speech and the crisis that our beloved radio station is going through”.
“Hounded in our own company, we demand that certain decisions be made that will heal the situation,” they concluded, also adding that they “hope the people who may be responsible for causing the ending of the life of a young boy bear severe consequences”.
Oświadczenie części pracowników Radia Szczecin pic.twitter.com/jRKAbJe3ms
— Dominika Długosz (@domi_dlugosz) March 9, 2023
On Friday, Radio Szczecin’s film critic, Krzysztof Spór, announced that he had resigned over the issue. In a statement, he said that he had “no doubt” that the station had deliberately sought to “turn human misfortune into a political weapon”.
“The line was crossed, beyond which an unimaginable tragedy occurred,” he continued. “But instead of reflection and decisive action by the management of Radio Szczecin, they avoid taking responsibility and resort to political rhetoric, in accordance with party interests.”
The two presenters of the station’s morning show, Grzegorz Piepke and Bartłomiej Czetowicz, also announced their resignations.
Previously, on Wednesday, the pair had posted a video on Instagram saying that they had been subjected to a wave of hate. They said that the situation had left many of the station’s staff afraid for the safety of themselves and their families.
“We hope that the matter will be clarified as soon as possible and that those responsible for this whole situation will be punished,” announced the duo.
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At the end of January, the head of the KRRiT, Maciej Świrski, initiated proceedings against Radio Szeczin as well as state television station TVP “in connection with the broadcast of content enabling the identification of a paedophile’s victims, which threatened the wellbeing of child victims of violence”.
Meanwhile, the head of a state commission responsible for investigating cases of paedophilia, Błażej Kmieciak, has submitted a request for the Media Ethics Council to also investigate Radio Szczecin’s reporting.
“When, while reading [a news story], I am able to find the personal details of children who have been harmed within 15 seconds…this form of reporting is inappropriate, unethical and dishonest,” Kmieciak told Polsat News.
The rise in attempted suicides by children in Poland is caused by “LGBT, neoliberal and neomarxist ideologies”, says the education minister
His solution is to protect traditional values and the church to help young people distinguish between good and evil https://t.co/rnnZOe91YD
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 9, 2023
Main image credit: Cezary Aszkielowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
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.
