U.S. government study on Chojecki's conviction: Violation of freedom of expression

idzpodprad.pl 1 year ago

"In Poland in June, the Lublin Court of Appeals upheld the 2021 judgment, according to which Protestant pastor Paweł Chojecki was to carry out 8 months of social work after he was found guilty of "images of spiritual feelings" as critical comments on Catholics and president (Andrzeja Duda – ed.)" – we read in an yearly study of the U.S. government agency for spiritual freedom. Pastor Chojecki's conviction is cited as an example of violations of global protection of freedom of religion and freedom of speech in Europe.

Pastor Paul Chojecki's conviction is described in the chapter “Key events in the world” in the section ‘Provisions limiting spiritual freedom’. Unfortunately, the study cites 2 Polish examples of violations of global law. 1 of them is the trial of Paweł Chojecki, editor-in-chief of tv Go Under the Current and pastor of the Protestant Church of the fresh Covenant in Lublin.

"Many European countries have adopted and enforced government that restricts statements deemed offensive to religion, violating the global protection of freedom of religion and freedom of expression. (...) In Poland, in June, the Lublin Court of Appeals upheld the 2021 judgment, according to which Protestant pastor Paweł Chojecki was to carry out 8 months of community service after he was found guilty of "images of spiritual feelings" as critical comments on Catholics and the President." report U.S. government spiritual freedom agency.

The U.S. agency stresses in its document: “The blasphemy laws are 1 of the top challenges to spiritual freedom, due to the fact that they punish acts or expressions that are considered offensive to spiritual feelings, characters or symbols with the death penalty, forced labour, imprisonment or fine.”

Why was Pastor Chojecki convicted?

In the net tv founded by him Go Under Current Pastor Chojecki has been criticizing for years The Catholic Church for pedophilia, leaving Jesus' teaching and fading with authority. (His sermons about free salvation by grace, without the request of sacraments and good works, are watched all week by respective 1000 spectators.) Pastor Chojecki is besides a publicist and commentator of socio-political life. president Andrzej Duda, among others, called a coward for deficiency of firmness in Russia. In consequence to the activities of the pastor, the pro-Russian and Catholic communities began to hunt him, his household and the Church. The group, mostly related to Grzegorz Braun, the Confederate and the National Media, wrote a study on the pastor and found an ally in the prosecutor's office headed by Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobra. (One of the auxiliary prosecutors in the process of Paweł Chojecki late took part in the pro-Russian demonstration in Lublin, another is in the ABW – in February this year his books were confiscated as part of an investigation into negation of Nazi crimes on Jews.) The 2020 prosecutor charged the pastor with the injuries of president Duda and the spiritual feelings of Catholics.

In Poland there is simply a law, compared by any to the alleged "blasphemy law" of muslim states, where insulting the Quran or Muhammad is prohibited. In our country this is, among others, Art. 196 KK on the image of spiritual feelings, utilized primarily to prosecute critics of the Catholic Church.

In 2021, the justice of the Lublin territory Court, Andrzej Klimkowski, declared that Pastor Chojecki "attacks the Church as an institution" and sentenced it to 8 months of restrictions on freedom in the form of social work and paying over PLN 20 1000 of procedural costs. The justice of the Court of Appeal in Lublin, Wojciech Zaręba, retained his conviction in force.

The chance of Pastor Chojecki is to cassate a conviction to the ultimate Court, which can only be filed by the Ombudsman or the Minister of Justice (Prosecution General). RPO Marcin Wiązek rejected the application and petition for the annulment of the pastor's sentence. Minister Adam Bodnar has yet to answer. The pastor, on the another hand, lodged a complaint against the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In April this year, the Court decided to deal with the case.

"Poland is pointed out by its fingers due to the fact that it violates the standards of spiritual freedom" - commented present the study of the U.S. government in the Go Under the Current LIVE defender of Pastor Chojecki, Andrzej Turczyn. Pastor Chojecki besides referred to the situation, regretting that "this conviction is simply a shame for Poland".

SEE the full comment:

A documentary about Pastor Chojecki's trial was created. "Condemned for Duda and the Church. Chojecki: CASATION’
Language versions have already been developed – EnglishGerman and Czech.

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