Protestant pastor convicted for insulting Polish president and Catholics

The controversial pastor of an evangelical church in Poland has been found guilty of offending the religious feelings of Catholics and insulting the Polish nation and president, all of which are criminal offences carrying potential jail terms.

Paweł Chojecki, who was also found guilty of insulting Catholic objects of religious worship but cleared of calling for a war of aggression against North Korea, has been sentenced to eight months’ community service and must also pay legal fees.

Prosecutors said that Chojecki, pastor of the Church of the New Covenant, which is based in the eastern city of Lublin, called President Andrzej Duda a “guardian of the interests of Moscow and Berlin”, “sleeper agent”, “sheep”, “traitor” and “complete coward”, reports Onet.

They called for him to receive a prison sentence and be required to remove the offensive comments from his “Idź Pod Prąd” (Against The Tide) YouTube channel. These included referring to “moronic Catholic Poland”, calling the Catholic church a “great big prostitute”, and saying Catholics recited the rosary “like a monkey”.

The court decided to accept the testimonies of Catholics who gave details of their feelings of offence at the pastor’s comments. Andrzej Klimkowski, the judge in the case, said that the words used by Chojecki were not merely a “difference in views”.

“Criticism cannot be free, there must be limits,” he said. “Even the freedom of speech guaranteed in the constitution has its limits. The statements go beyond criticism because they demonstrated contempt.”

However, the judge found that remarks Chojecki had made regarding North Korea did not fulfil the criteria necessary for him to be convicted of seeking to incite a war of aggression, a crime that also carried a potential jail term.

According to prosecutor Radosław Patlewicz, the judge excluded statements by 27 witnesses called by the defence claiming to be Catholics and not feel offended, but who were proven to in fact be members of Chojecki’s church.

Sentencing Chojecki to 20 hours’ community service per month for eight months and 20,000 zloty (€4,440) legal costs, the judge said the penalty would give him time to “think about his conduct and dogmas” and expressed hope that he would “come to his senses”, reports Onet.

“This verdict shows that Latin civilisation still endures in Poland…such values as the truth, good and culture, not lies, evil and boorishness,” said Patlewicz. “The accused vulgarly insulted Catholic sanctities and slandered the Polish nation and president…I hope that Paweł Chojecki will cease this vulgar and anti-Polish activity.”.

Chojecki was not present to hear the verdict, but later gave his reaction on his internet channel, saying that he accepted it “with sadness”, reports Onet.

“Never in my life did I expect that the Polish state would punish me for my words and beliefs,” he said. “The judge sent a clear signal to those who criticise the Catholic church and the [ruling] Law and Justice party authorities: watch your words, because you will share my fate.”

“This is a day of triumph for my enemies who for years have been busy destroying my person and my family. They even called my grandson ‘the antichrist”, he added.

Chojecki has been associated with far-right politics, and his internet channel was previously co-hosted by Marian Kowalski, a candidate of the National Movement (Ruch Narodowy) in the 2015 presidential elections.

In 2018, the pair posed holding a gun and a bible to promote the formation of what they described as “the only anti-communist, biblical party in Poland”.

Chojecki also founded a campaign encouraging Polish Christians to share photographs of themselves “combining a statement of faith with firearms displayed in a non-threatening way…Pacifism is a deceptive ideology…[which] makes Christians vulnerable to attacks of terrorists and killers.”

Poland has some of the broadest insult and defamation laws in any democratic country, according to the OSCE. In recent years, there have been a growing number of indictments for the crime of “offending religious sentiment”, including cases of LGBT activists producing and distributing images of the Virgin Mary and Jesus with LGBT rainbows added to their halos.

A number of people have also been convicted – during President Duda’s term and previously – for insulting the president, a crime which could potentially be punished with a three-year prison sentence.

Most recently, in March, popular writer Jakub Żulczyk was indicted after calling Duda “an idiot”. In December, a man was given community service after defacing one of Duda’s election posters by drawing a penis on the president’s forehead.

Main image credit: Idź Pod Prąd/YouTube (screenshot)

Ben Koschalka

Ben Koschalka is a translator, lecturer, and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Kraków since 2005.