Jakub Żulczyk accused of insulting President Andrzej Duda. The court did not dismiss the case. The process in the fall

The case concerns an entry on a social networking site from November last year, in which – commenting on the president’s entry Andrzej Duda after the presidential election in the United States – Jakub Żulczyk called him “an idiot”. An investigation into this case began after informing a private individual. The indictment was submitted to the Warsaw District Court at the end of March.

WATCH TVN24 ON THE INTERNET ON TVN24 GO

On Monday, the Warsaw District Court met at a session aimed at considering the defense’s motion to discontinue the case. While justifying the request, Żulczyk’s attorney, Krzysztof Nowiński, pointed to the dichotomy present in it.

– On the one hand, we are dealing with a constitutional body, with one of the most serious politicians in this country, coming from the ruling party, with unlimited possibilities when it comes to real power (…), on the other hand, we have a citizen who wrote a post on Facebook he said. The fact that he is a “widely read writer” is of secondary importance, he added.

The lawyer pointed out that the wording used by Żulczyk should be viewed in a broader context. – Jakub Żulczyk did not stand with this inscription in front of the Presidential Palace, he wrote a wider text, which he concluded with this statement – he explained. He argued that the entry itself was a column, i.e. a form governed by certain laws. – This statement was not an irrational insult, it was sharp, but nonetheless criticism – said Nowiński.

Żulczyk himself also spoke before the court. – Yes, my statement was sharp and characterized by colloquial language (…), but it was a justified criticism, a criticism for which I also have competences resulting from education – he said. He assured that the harsh language resulted from indignation at the president’s actions, which he assessed as “unwise” and “irrational”, and from concern for the Polish state.

– Certainly, I have a greater responsibility for the word than a citizen who does not have the same reach as mine, but I used the word deliberately and the purpose of this was not to draw attention to myself or to ridicule or humiliate the man who serves as president, Mr. Andrzej Bagpipes, just a criticism of his very unreasonable behavior, which I uphold – he said.

READ MORE: He called President Duda a word “generally considered offensive”. The writer accused

– President Duda used the phrase: “LGBT are not people” at the election rally, i.e. he dehumanized a large part of the society and was therefore not held liable in any way. I see a certain injustice in this – added Żulczyk. He thus alluded to Andrzej Duda’s statements at the election rally last June.

The prosecutor’s office demanded that the defense request be dismissed – without further justification.

The court decided not to accept the request. Judge Tomasz Grochowicz said that the defense referred to the possibility of discontinuation of the proceedings when the act does not contain the features of a prohibited act or when its social harm is negligible. In his opinion, however, it is too early to assess whether any of these premises actually occurred in the case.

– In the opinion of the court, at the present stage of the proceedings, it is not possible to directly establish the circumstances that the defender of the defendant is trying to prove in the application – said the judge. He explained that their determination would be possible only after taking evidence before the court.

The judge has not yet set the first date for the hearing, but stated that it will probably be held at the turn of October and November.

The case concerns the entry of President Andrzej Duda from November 7, 2020, after the presidential election in the United States. “Congratulations to Joe Biden for the successful presidential campaign. Pending the nomination of the Electoral College, Poland is determined to maintain the high level and high quality of the Polish-American strategic partnership for an even stronger alliance,” the president wrote then.

“(…) I have never heard that there is such a thing in the American election process as ‘a nomination by the Electoral College.’ Biden won the election. He won 290 certain electoral votes, eventually, after recounting the votes in Georgia, he will probably win 306 of them he needed 270 to win. The US president-elect is ‘announced’ by the news agencies, there is no federal central body or office governing this announcement. formality. Joe Biden is the 46th president of the US. Andrzej Duda is an idiot “- wrote Żulczyk on Facebook then.

The writer is accused of article 135 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code. He faces up to three years in prison.