Lady convicted of offending non secular emotions by throwing eggs at church in Polish abortion protest

In a ruling that’s now legally binding, a lady who threw eggs at a church throughout protests in opposition to Poland’s near-total abortion dangerous has been discovered responsible of offending non secular emotions, which is against the law in Poland punishable by a jail sentence of as much as two years.

The girl, Zofia Nierodzińska, had appealed after final 12 months being discovered responsible of the offence and ordered to pay 2,000 zloty. That verdict has now been upheld by an appeals court docket, however the choose determined to elevate the tremendous.

Nierodzińska, the deputy director of the Arsenal Municipal Gallery in Poznań, posted a video of herself throwing the eggs on the closed door of a church within the metropolis in October 2020 amid mass protests in opposition to the constitutional court docket ruling that had simply outlawed virtually all abortion in Poland.

“Maybe that wasn’t probably the most wise factor to do, however we’re at warfare, proper?” she wrote below the submit.

Subsequently, she was interviewed by not solely the police but additionally the army police, because the constructing she focused within the Jeżyce district of Poznań turned out to be the church of a close-by garrison, stories TVN24.

Nierodzińska was charged with offending non secular sentiments by publicly insulting an object of non secular worship or place designated for public efficiency of non secular rites. The indictment included testimonies from a number of clergymen and lay folks that their sensibilities had been offended.

In September final 12 months, a district court docket dominated that Nierodzińska had certainly offended non secular emotions, however on the identical time conditionally discontinued the proceedings for one 12 months’s probation, ordering that she pay 2,000 zloty to a fund for victims and witnesses of crime.

The choose, Katarzyna Kosmalewicz, famous that for an individual’s non secular emotions to be offended they needn’t have been a witness to the incident. “Decisive is the truth that the offending content material reached a particular individual, leading to a robust response with the character of offence of non secular emotions,” she dominated.

“I’m harmless,” Nierodzińska mentioned on the time, calling her act a gesture of civil disobedience. “I’m sorry {that a} lady, the choose, doesn’t take the phrase of a feminine citizen, however does take that of privileged clergymen and believes that they’ve been traumatised by three eggs.”

In her enchantment, Nierodzińska’s lawyer, Mateusz Szynwelski, identified that his consumer had made positive that nobody was round and the church was empty earlier than throwing the eggs, and that the plaintiffs should have looked for the movie on-line earlier than taking offence.

Nevertheless, the appeals court docket choose, Aleksander Brzozowski, was not satisfied, upholding the responsible verdict and conditional probation, though he waived the duty to pay the contribution to the fund.

“The accused has lived in Poland for a few years, she was born right here, and for each Pole, such an exemplary follower of the Catholic faith in Poland, it’s apparent that throwing eggs at a church, or a secular individual, or an establishment is an expression of contempt, insult, humiliation,” he mentioned.

Nierodzińska yesterday reiterated her claims that she is harmless, including that she has determined to go away Poland as a result of she is afraid of Polish docs and hospitals.

“It’s not concerning the emotions of the church hierarchy, however about preventing for the correct to freedom and ladies’s lives on this nation. That’s what I’m preventing for,” she mentioned.

The mass protests that broke out following the near-total abortion ban in some circumstances focused church buildings and different Catholic websites. That led to some clashes with nationalists who had rallied to defend church buildings.

Final 12 months, one of many leaders of the protests was charged with plenty of offences, together with of damaging a monument by spraying graffiti on a historic church. Quickly after, the trial started of 32 folks accused of “malicious interference with a public efficiency of a non secular act” by protesting in a church.

Lately Poland has seen a rising variety of prosecutions below its blasphemy legal guidelines, with critics accusing the conservative authorities of searching for to suppress free speech.

Final 12 months, three LGBT activists had been discovered not responsible of offending non secular emotions for including rainbow colors to a picture of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. A number of weeks earlier, nevertheless, musician Nergal was convicted of the identical crime for posting a picture of a foot stamping on the Virgin Mary.

Foremost picture credit score: Jakub Orzechowski / Agencja Gazeta