A 20-year-old woman has been found guilty of insulting the president. Meanwhile, a separate trial has begun of three high-school students who are charged with the same crime, which in Poland carries a potential prison sentence of up to three years.
The woman, who can be named only as Wiktoria K. under Polish privacy law, was among a group of protesters at a rally held by President Andrzej Duda in July last year while he was standing for re-election. In a recording widely shared online, she was heard shouting “f**k Duda” (“je..ć Dudę”).
Following an investigation, Wiktoria K. was arrested by police at her workplace, detained at a police station and then taken for questioning by prosecutors. She had initially been told she would be questioned as a witness, but after being detained was charged with insulting the president, reports Fakt.
Last month, following a complaint by her lawyer, a separate court ruling found that police had acted excessively and illegally by detaining Wiktoria K., who the judge said should have simply been called in for questioning. She was awarded compensation as a result.
Yesterday, final arguments were heard in her criminal trial. Prosecutors said that she had clearly insulted the president. But they argued that, taking into account her age, lack of criminal record and remorse over the incident, she should be found guilty but conditionally discharged from any punishment.
Wiktoria K.’s defence claimed that, because Duda was attending the rally as an election candidate, rather than as head of state, she should be acquitted of the crime.
The court sided with the prosecution, finding Wiktoria K. guilty but discharging her of any punishment. The judge noted that she had already faced punishment in the form of abuse both on the internet and in public since the incident.
The defendant can appeal the verdict. Her lawyer told Fakt that they would make a decision on whether to do so once the full written justification is published.
Teens on trial for insulting president
Meanwhile, a separate trial has begun of three high-school students also accused of insulting President Duda. The alleged crime took place at an outdoor gathering in June last year to celebrate the start of the summer holidays.
During the festivities, three teens – aged between 18 and 19 at the time – took down an election campaign banner featuring the president and shouted “f**k Duda”. One of them also cut the banner with scissors, reports Gazeta Wyborcza.
Prosecutors were notified of the incident by a local activist from the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which supported Duda’s re-election. Her son had attended the party at which the alleged crime took place and later told his mother about it.
Prosecutors have argued that, as well as the insult to the president, the incident was an act of hooliganism. That could result in a more severe punishment, notes Gazeta Wyborcza.
Two of the boys have pleaded guilty, with one expressing remorse and blaming alcohol for the incident. The third has not pleaded guilty. The trial continues.
Poland’s insult laws
The latest developments come after a prominent writer was earlier this week indicted for insulting the president by describing him as an “idiot” in a social media post.
Last year, a man was given six months’ community service and an order to refrain from drinking alcohol after drunkenly drawing a penis on a poster of Duda and writing “five years of shame” in reference to his first term as president. Another man was charged over a banner saying “We have an idiot for a president”.
The recent incidents have renewed debate over Poland’s longstanding law against insulting the head of state. It has been used regularly over the years to pursue and in some cases punish people caught insulting presidents, including Duda’s predecessors Bronisław Komorowski and Lech Kaczyński.
It is one of a wide range of defamation and insult laws in Poland, which are among the broadest and strictest in any democratic country, according to a study by the OSCE. In recent years, there have been a growing number of indictments for the crime of “offending religious sentiment”.
Since 2016, prosecutors have been under the authority of Zbigniew Ziobro, who concurrently serves as justice minister and national prosecutor. This has led to claims that the prosecutorial service has been politicised, and is used to serve the government’s agenda.
Main image credit: Ministerstwo Rodziny i Polityki Społecznej/Flickr (under CC BY-ND 2.0)
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.
