According to information provided by the Virtual Media portal, the territory Court in Warsaw waived the punishment imposed on the broadcaster TOK FM by the head of the National Broadcasting Council in early 2024. He ordered KRRiT to reimburse the station's broadcaster with PLN 8.4 1000 of the costs of the process. A brief oral justification stated that the decision was issued by the Head of the National Council with a gross violation of the law.
The punishment was imposed for 5 TOK FM radio broadcasts, in which "there were noted, among others, terms that were insulting, degrading and demeaning to the dignity of the most crucial people in the country, including the president of the Republic", as well as "there were besides statements that ridiculed and mocked any people and groups of society, which could, consequently, have aroused resentment or hostility towards them. besides utilized were terms bearing the signs of hatred speech, inter alia, by utilizing the alleged zooinvection".
The case was besides commented on on their website by the TOK FM radio. "On Tuesday, the territory Court of Warsaw issued a judgement whereby the decision of the president of the KRRiT on the alleged speech of hatred was repealed. The decision imposed penalties, among others, for statements on the president and ministers of the erstwhile power. The conviction is invalid," we read on the station's website.
At the same time, the court stated that the decision was issued with a gross violation of the law and ruled PLN 8417 to Inforadio for reimbursement of the costs of the trial. The Court of First Instance stated in a brief oral message that it had full divided the argument of appeal as to the unlawfulness of the decision.
According to data from 2022, the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) imposed penalties on 14 radio stations and 5 tv stations for violation of the law. The full amount of penalties amounted to over PLN 1.3 million.
It is worth noting that freedom of expression is 1 of the fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Poland. However, freedom of speech does not mean impunity for statements that may demean or insult another persons.
In 2020, The Constitutional Court ruled that the National Broadcasting Council has the right to impose penalties on radio and tv stations for violation of the law, including hatred speech. However, the Court stressed that penalties should be proportionate to the offence and must not violate freedom of expression.
It is besides worth noting that the European Union is besides active in protecting freedom of speech and fighting hatred speech. In 2019, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on freedom of expression and hatred speech in the European Union. The resolution stressed that freedom of speech is simply a fundamental human right, but that hatred speech cannot be tolerated.
In Poland, fighting hatred speech is besides an crucial topic. In 2020, the Sejm adopted a law to defend freedom of speech and fight hatred speech. The law imposes penalties on persons who demean or insult another persons by means of speech.
It is worth noting that the TOK FM case is an crucial precedent for fighting hatred speech in Poland. The court waived the punishment imposed on the radio station, which could affect future hatred speech cases. However, the case besides shows that freedom of speech does not mean impunity for statements that may demean or insult another persons.
