Polish artist convicted of painting protesting curtailment of abortion law

Polish artist convicted of painting protesting curtailment of abortion law
Polish artist convicted of painting protesting curtailment of abortion law
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Painter Krzysztof Soroka in his house. He was convicted on appeal for one of his paintings.Sculpture Piotr Malecki

The canvas, which Soroka took to a protest against the curtailment of abortion laws in Poland in 2021, shows a cross with a Jesus statue being pushed into a vulva by a cleric’s hand. Soroka was acquitted in a previous court case, but the public prosecutor appealed.

The Public Prosecution Service invoked Article 196, which is controversial in Poland, which offers the possibility to prosecute expressions that offend ‘religious feelings’. Violation of this article is subject to a fine or imprisonment of up to 2 years. Poland has several such court cases, but they rarely lead to a conviction.

Soroka is fined 2,000 złoty (425 euros) and has to repay the costs of the proceedings to the organization that brought the case: Fidei Defensor, a Catholic legal organization. Chairman Adam Surmacz is satisfied with the verdict. “This is an important precedent, it shows that people shouldn’t do this.”

Soroka is considering next steps, he says on the phone. “I still feel I am free to express my opinion in this country. Apparently I have to go to Warsaw for that now.’ It is the highest court in Poland. “But first I’m going to take a good look at the verdict with my lawyer.”

Strasbourg

After Warsaw, there is the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. There they already had an Article 196 case on their desk. Polish pop singer Doda had said in an interview that “the Bible was written by someone drunk on wine and high on smoking weed.” After being convicted in Poland, she moved to Strasbourg.

The judge ruled that Poland had violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of expression). Believers cannot expect that there will be no criticism of their beliefs, according to the judge.

Incidentally, the Court in Strasbourg is not consistent in this. A case from Austria in which the Court ruled otherwise is often cited by Polish Catholic organizations, which see it as confirmation that freedom of religion takes precedence over freedom of expression.

The article is in Dutch

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