Doubts emerge in case of Polish nationalist freed from prison by justice minister

Court documents obtained by a newspaper have cast doubt on the case of a nationalist, Marika Matuszak, released from prison on Friday by Poland’s justice minister. He argued that her three-year prison sentence for attempting to steal a rainbow bag during a protest against an LGBT march was unjustly harsh.

The files indicate that Matuszak along with three men – one of whom is reportedly a neo-fascist – used violence against a participant in the march, leaving her with injuries. They also suggest that three years was the minimum prison sentence possible for the court to apply in the case.

However, Ordo Iuris, the conservative legal group seeking a presidential pardon for Matuszak, disputes the claim that a softer sentence could not have been applied. It says that it will release files from the case on Monday.

On Friday evening, justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro announced that, in his capacity as public prosecutor general, he had ordered the release from prison of Matuszak while her request for a presidential pardon is considered.

At a press conference on Saturday, Ziobro described the sentence given to the nationalist as a “scandalous abuse of the law” and said he would seek “consequences” for prosecutors and judges involved in the case.

However, when asked by a reporter from TVN, Poland’s largest broadcaster, what exactly had happened during the incident for which Matuszak had been convicted, Ziobro refused to answer.

When pressed further, Ziobro accused the journalist of “arrogance”, “lack of respect” and of being an opposition “functionary”.

Ziobro told the reporter that if he wanted to know more about the incident, he should request the court files. Another news outlet, leading liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza, did manage to obtain some, though not all, of the documents.

The newspaper said the files show that Matuszak along with a man named as Michał Ostrzycki and two other perpetrators who were never identified attacked a young woman during the annual LGBT equality march in Poznań on 10 August 2020.

“Using violence”, they tried to snatch the victim’s bag, reports Gazeta Wyborcza, quoting the files. “As a result of the struggle, the assaulted woman suffered injuries including bruises on her hand and a sprain of the distal phalangeal joint of her left hand.”

The court found that their actions were of a hooligan nature. That meant that the normal minimum sentence of two years for attempted robbery was increased to three years, reports the newspaper, which also noted that Matuszak did not appeal against her sentence.

Ostrzycki also received a three-year prison sentence but, unlike Matuszak, he did appeal. However, his appeal was rejected.

An anonymous source familiar with the case told the newspaper that Ostrzycki is a neo-fascist. Online information shows that both he and Matuszak were part of a radical-right group called the National Purification Front (Front Oczyszczenia Narodowego) that aims to cleanse Poland of “all blemishes, dirt and enemies of the Polish nation”.

An individual called Michał Ostrzycki has written a number of articles for Szturm, a self-described “radical nationalist” publication. One of those articles says that the nationalist movement “must be armed” so that it can be able to “fight physically, to use violence at any time necessary…both to defend and attack”.

Pani Marika miała dokonać rozboju razem z dwiema innymi osobami. Ciekawe czy one również zostały skazane? Autor zrzutki Michał Ostrzycki, przedstawiany w kilku tekstach jako partner pani Mariki i występujący razem z nią na wielu zdjęciach od ponad roku zdaje się nie być aktywny… pic.twitter.com/HdRdaDDvyb

— mec.Prado (@DanielSlezaq) July 14, 2023

One image widely shared on social media purports to show Ostrzycki saluting in front of a German-Nazi swastika flag while wearing a German military-style cap also featuring a swastika. Another photograph shows him and Matuszak wearing caps adorned with the Celtic cross symbol used by white supremacists.

The latter picture comes from an online fundraiser published under Ostrzycki’s name. The authenticity of the other picture – which features an individual who looks similar to other photographs of Ostrzycki – has not yet been confirmed.

Ordo Iuris, which first brought Matuszak’s case to public attention this week, has disputed the claim that three years in prison was the minimum sentence possible for the judge to give her.

“It was not the lowest sentence possible,” tweeted Jerzy Kwaśniewski, president of Ordo Iuris. “It was one of the highest sentences” for such a case, he added.

Kwaśniewski announced that, in response to “lies by left-wing celebrities” about the case, on Monday his organisation will publish the court ruling once they have redacted personal data from the documents.

Main image credit: Kuba Atys / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

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.