A court in Płock acquitted three LGBT activists accused of offense against religious feelings. The ruling ends a lawsuit filed by a local parishioner against the three women for placing stickers with an image of Virgin Mary and Jesus with rainbow colors as their halos.
The court said, among other things, that the defendants did not aim to hurt anyone's religious feelings, but rather wanted to draw attention to the victims of discrimination due to sexual orientation or gender identity.
"I hope that this initiative, although one of the first, won't be the last to let people see Poland from a bit different perspective. That it will promote Poland as a country of courageous people who aren't afraid to stand behind those persecuted, and judges who understand the idea behind the protests against homophobia" - activists and artist Elżbieta Podleśna said after the verdict.
The incident that sparked the lawsuit took place on a night between April 26 and 27, 2019. The three activists placed images of Virgin Mary and Jesus with rainbow as their halos, in the vicinity of St. Dominic Church in Płock.
This was their response to a display set up by the church showing a list of sins and vices, among which "LGBT" and "gender" were also included.
Two court sessions
The trial began on January 13, 2021. Two court sessions took place - last one on February 17. On that day, the prosecution called for all three defendants to be sentenced to prison and community service. The defense demanded the defendants to be fully acquitted.
Along the course of the trial, the prosecution had demanded the defendants to be punished with six months of community service. The parishioner's attorney, in turn, had demanded 18 months of community service to be served through 30 hours of unpaid labor each month.
Offending religious feelings in Poland carries a sentence of even up to two years in prison.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP