The District Court in Warsaw will reconsider the case of actress Barbara Kurdej-Szatan, who is accused of defaming Border Guard officers. The return of the case is the result of the decision of the Supreme Court, which accepted Zbigniew Ziobro's complaint. He submitted it when he was still the prosecutor general.
Last October, then-Attorney General Zbigniew Ziobro filed an extraordinary complaint against the ruling of the District Court in Warsaw.
On Wednesday, it was considered by the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court overturned the contested judgment and referred the case for reconsideration by the District Court in Warsaw. The hearing was held in public.
Indictment against Kurdej-Szatan
The indictment against the artist was brought to court in early June 2022. “Barbara K.-Sz. was accused of defaming the Border Guard and its officers on November 4, 2021, using mass media on a social networking site,” the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw reported at the time. She added that “the suspect did not admit to the alleged act and provided extensive explanations.”
This is about the actress' post on Instagram, criticizing in an emotional and obscene manner the actions of the Border Guard on the Polish-Belarusian border. “These are f**king “border guards” ?????? “Guards” ????????? These are machines without a heart, without a brain, without ANYTHING!!! Machines blindly following orders !!!!! Fuck!!!!! How can this happen!!!!!! My heart hurts, my whole chest is shaking and I'm screaming!!!!!! Do you still want such a government? ?????? Who allows such things and even orders people to behave like this?????? – wrote the actress. This entry was deleted after some time.
Actress's translations
In early December 2022 The District Court in Pruszków discontinued the proceedings against the accused, finding that the act she was accused of did not constitute a prohibited act. The decision was invalid. The parties had the right to appeal to the Appellate Division of the District Court in Warsaw.
The District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw then announced that it did not agree with the court's decision and the arguments used in the justification of the decision. “In the opinion of the public prosecutor, the publication of the entry in which the accused uses the terms 'machines without brains and hearts' and 'murderers' in relation to the Border Guard and its officers performing statutory duties in the field of protection of the Polish border in the Polish-Belarusian section, defamed the entity obliged to protection of state borders, as well as its officers,” the prosecutor's office wrote.
In February 2023 The District Court in Warsaw upheld the contested judgment of the District Court in Pruszków, which meant that the verdict was final. It was challenged by the Attorney General in October 2023.
Main photo source: Łukasz Gągulski/PAP