Rainbow Madonna, an adaptation of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, which is considered offensive to religious sentiments.[1]

Offending religious feelings (Polish: Obraza uczuć religijnych) is a blasphemy law in Poland. According to Article 196 of the Penal Code:[2] "Whoever offends the religious feelings of other persons by publicly insulting an object of religious worship, or a place designated for public religious ceremonies, is liable to pay a fine, have their liberty limited, or be deprived of their liberty for a period of up to two years."[3]

Constitutionality

A law forbidding blasphemy was included in the original 1932 Polish penal code.[4]

The Constitutional Tribunal has ruled that the law is not in conflict with the Constitution of Poland and is not overbroad. The European Court of Human Rights has also allowed other blasphemy laws under margin of appreciation doctrine, as individual countries have broad ability to set moral standards.[4]

Polish law has no provision which exempts or reduces the scrutiny applied to artistic expression alleged to violate the law, although many artists who have been accused of violating it say that their work should be protected as artistic freedom.[4]

A separate law, Article 256, criminalizes incitement to hatred based on religious belief.[5][4]

Cases

The majority of cases in which charges of Article 196 are made do not lead to actual convictions. About 55 prosecutions on average were brought each year between 1999 and 2016. Since Poland is a predominantly Catholic country (around 87% of Poles say they were baptized as Catholics), most Article 196 cases concern that religion.[4]

In 2000, Polish artist Dorota Nieznalska juxtaposed Greek cross with male genitalia in an artistic exhibition. In 2009 she was finally acquitted after lengthy legal proceedings, due to the court not finding an intent to offend religious feelings.[4]

Darski performing at Hellfest 2010

In 2008, musician Adam Darski tore up a Bible during a performance, referring to it as "the book of lies".[4] He was acquitted after the performance was deemed not to be sufficiently public, the audience had bought tickets and consented to the performance, and only one audience member complained. After his acquittal, Darski announced his intention to hold "Satanist communion" during performances.[4]

In 2009, singer Dorota Rabczewska (Doda) referred to the Bible as "something written by individuals high on alcohol and weed". She was convicted and fined. The case Rabczewska v. Poland is currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights.[4]

In 2015, Robert Biedroń, mayor of Słupsk, was investigated for removing a portrait of John Paul II from his office after PiS activists reported him for allegedly offending religious feelings.[6]

In 2019, Elżbieta Podleśna was arrested for displaying a Rainbow Madonna adaptation of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa.[1] In July 2020, Podleśna and two other activists were formally charged with offending religious feelings; they pled not guilty. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and Amnesty International criticized the use of the law.[7]

In October 2019, Bishop Szymon Niemiec of the United Ecumenical Church was interrogated by police under suspicion of offending religious feelings "by insulting the object of worship in the form of a Catholic Mass"; police had received more than 150 complaints regarding the incident. He had held an ecumenical, LGBT-inclusive religious service in connection with Warsaw's 2019 Equality Parade, which was criticized by the Catholic Episcopal Conference of Poland and Law and Justice politicians. Niemiec previously held similar services every year since 2010 without controversy. Niemiec and Julia Maciocha, president of the committee which organizes Equality Parade, stated that the complaint against Niemiec violates the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion.[8][9]

In June 2021 pastor Paweł Chojecki, editor-in-chief of Against the Tide TV, has been tried for insulting the religious feelings of Catholics. The pastor was sentenced to eight months of restriction of freedom in the form of 20 hours per month of community work and reimbursement of the costs of the trial – more than 20 thousand PLN. The judgment was not legally valid.[10] On June 5 The Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of the court of first instance. The pastor was also ordered to pay the costs of both instances. Under the Polish system, Pastor Chojecki can no longer appeal the verdict. The case will be referred to international institutions for consideration.2023[11]

Calls to toughen the law

In 2022 United Poland called for tougher blasphemy laws in Poland, such as three-year jail terms for insulting church or interrupting mass.[12]

In October 2022, they submitted a citizens' legislative initiative for the tougher blasphemy laws with close to 400,000 signatures to parliament.[13][14]

Repeal attempts

The law is controversial in Poland. Lawyers have noted that it is excessively vague, not stating what actions count as "offending religious feelings", leading some to call for repeal of the law.[15][16][17][18][19] Opponents of the law say that it has a chilling effect on legitimate free speech and criticism of religion.[4] It has been criticized for violating free speech by human rights watchdogs such as Article 19,[20] Human Rights Watch,[21] Freedom House,[2] End Blasphemy Laws,[22] and Amnesty International.[23] The Council of Europe's Recommendation 1805 urges member states to repeal blasphemy laws.[4] Anne Ramberg and Michael Kirby of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute stated that the law was overbroad, conflicting with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and was used unfairly to target LGBT rights advocates.[24]

In 2019, MP Krzysztof Mieszkowski of Modern submitted legislation that would have abolished the offense. Referencing Podleśna's arrest, he said that Article 196 "has become a political tool today" and was an "oppressive article that has repeatedly limited creative freedom".[25][26] Robert Biedroń, leader of Spring, said that his party aims to repeal the offense if elected. Biedroń added that the law and arrest of Podleśna made Poland internationally "famous for the idiotic attitude of today's rulers who go after artists and those who enjoy freedom of speech".[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Sieradzka, Monika (10 May 2019). "Poland: Furor over 'rainbow madonna' LGBT activist arrest". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 Prud’homme, Jo-Anne (2010). "Poland" (PDF). Policing Belief: the Impact of Blasphemy Laws on Human Rights. Freedom House. pp. 89–94. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  3. ↑ Application no. 8257/13 Archived 2020-09-17 at the Wayback Machine, European Court of Human Rights
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Kulesza, Joanna; Kulesza, Jan (2017). "Blasphemy Law in Poland". Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression. Cambridge University Press. pp. 411–428. doi:10.1017/9781108242189.017. ISBN 9781108242189.
  5. 1 2 "Biedroń: Złożymy projekt zniesienia przepisu o obrazie uczuć religijnych". gazetaprawna.pl. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  6. ↑ "Poland". Freedom of Thought Report. Humanists International. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  7. ↑ SITNICKA, DOMINIKA (2 July 2020). "Prokuratura postawiła zarzuty za rozklejanie "tęczowych Maryjek"". oko.press. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "Odprawił nabożeństwo przed Paradą Równości. Biskup Szymon Niemiec usłyszał zarzuty". gazetapl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  9. ↑ Karpieszuk, Wojciech (23 October 2019). "Policja wzywa Szymona Niemca. Bedą zarzuty za nabożeństwo na Paradzie Równości?". Gazeta Wyborcza. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  10. ↑ https://www.rp.pl/prawo-karne/art91411-pastor-pawel-chojecki-skazany-za-zniewazenie-narodu-polskiego-prezydenta-rp-i-obraze-katolikow
  11. ↑ https://cne.news/article/3160-polish-court-upholds-sentence-against-protestant-pastor
  12. ↑ "Polish coalition party proposes three-year jail terms for insulting church or interrupting mass". 14 April 2022.
  13. ↑ ""Insulting or ridiculing church" to be jailable crime under bill supported by Polish justice minister". 7 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "Blasphemy law Poland may be toughened".
  15. ↑ Sobczyk, Paweł (2019). "Religious Display in Public Space and Protection of Religious Feelings in Poland". In Blicharz, Grzegorz (ed.). Freedom of Religion. A Comparative Law Perspective. Wydawnictwo Instytutu Wymiaru Sprawiedliwości. pp. 11–54. ISBN 978-83-66344-14-3.
  16. ↑ Rojek-Socha, Patrycja (8 May 2019). "Tęcza na cenzurowanym - uczucia religijne w Polsce nadal łatwo zranić". Prawo.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  17. ↑ CHABASIŃSKI, RAFAŁ (8 May 2019). "Obraza uczuć religijnych a Matka Boska z tęczową aureolą: po co nam art. 196 kodeksu karnego?". Bezprawnik (in Polish). Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  18. ↑ Cebula, Sławomir (2012). "Obraza uczuć religijnych, czyli kontrowersje wokół artykułu 196 kodeksu karnego". Studia Religiologica. Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego (in Polish). 45 (4): 293–300. ISSN 0137-2432. CEEOL 97510.
  19. ↑ Tryka, Barbara (2017). "Zagadnienie Uczuć Religijnych w Kontekście Artykułu 196 Kodeksu Karnego" [The Question of Religious Feelings in the Context of Article 196 of the Polish Criminal Code]. Analiza I Egzystencja (in Polish). 40: 67–93. doi:10.18276/aie.2017.40-04. CEEOL 636561.
  20. ↑ "Poland: Blasphemy conviction of pop star violates free expression". Article 19. 9 April 2018. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  21. ↑ "Poland: Arrest Over Virgin Mary's Rainbow Halo". Human Rights Watch. 8 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  22. ↑ "Poland". End Blasphemy Laws. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  23. ↑ "Activist arrested in Poland and house raided after Amnesty International meeting". Amnesty International USA. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  24. ↑ "IBAHRI condemns LGBTQI+ rights crackdown in Poland". International Bar Association. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  25. ↑ "Mieszkowski zapowiada projekt znoszący przepis o obrazie uczuć religijnych". tvp.info (in Polish). Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  26. ↑ "Mieszkowski: Znieść przepisy o obrazie uczuć religijnych". Gazeta Wyborcza. 7 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
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