Hate speech laws in Poland

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The hate speech laws in Poland derive from its Constitution and from its Penal Code. The laws discourage any conduct that foments racial, national, or sectarian hatred. The laws punish those who intentionally offend the feelings of the religious, e.g. by disturbing services or creating public calumny. They also prohibit public expression that insults a person or a group on account of national, ethnic, racial, or religious affiliation or the lack of a religious affiliation.

Contents

Constitution of Poland

Article 54 of the Constitution protects freedom of speech. [1] By its Article 13, the Constitution prohibits political parties and other organizations which have programmes based upon totalitarian methods and the modes of activity of nazism, fascism, and communism. Article 13 further prohibits any programmes or activities which promote racial or national hatred. Article 35 gives national and ethnic minorities the right to establish educational and cultural institutions and institutions designed to protect religious identity. [2]

Criminal Code of Poland

Article 196 makes anyone found guilty of intentionally offending religious feelings through public calumny of an object or place of worship liable to a fine, a restriction of liberty, or to imprisonment for a maximum of two years. [2]

Article 256 makes anyone found guilty of promoting a fascist or other totalitarian system of state or of inciting hatred based on national, ethnic, racial, or religious differences, or for reason of the lack of any religious denomination, liable to a fine, a restriction of liberty, or to imprisonment for a maximum of two years. [2]

Article 257 makes anyone found guilty of publicly insulting a group or a particular person because of national, ethnic, racial, or religious affiliation or because of the lack of any religious denomination liable to a fine, a restriction of liberty, or to imprisonment for a maximum of three years. [2]

Broadcasting Act (29 December 1992)

Article 18, paragraph 2 states that programmes or other broadcasts shall respect the religious beliefs of the public and respect especially the Christian system of values. Article 16b, paragraph 3 forbids the use of contents which are discriminatory on the grounds of race, gender, nationality, ethnic background, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. [2]

Selected cases

On 13 December 2019, the police arrested Jacek Miedlar for violating the Criminal Code on the grounds of, "inciting hatred against Jews and Holocaust denial." The prosecutors cited a November 2017 speech Jacek gave in Wrocław in which he called on his audience to, "be merciless and radical in the fight against...Talmudism." [3]

On 4 May 2010, the police charged singer Doda, whose real name is Dorota Rabczewska, with violating the Criminal Code for saying in 2009 that the Bible was "unbelievable" and written by people "drunk on wine and smoking some kind of herbs". [4] [5]

On 8 March 2010, the police charged vocalist and guitarist Adam Darski, of the Polish blackened death metal band Behemoth, with violating the Criminal Code. The charge arose out of a performance by Behemoth in September 2007 in Gdynia during which Darski allegedly called the Catholic Church "the most murderous cult on the planet", and he tore up a copy of the Bible. [6]

On 28 August 2006, police arrested Leszek Bubel for violating Article 257 of the Criminal Code by publishing anti-Semitic literature. On 7 December 2006, the authorities sent Bubel to a mental hospital in Tworki. [2]

On 14 April 2006, the Jan Karski Association complained that a broadcast on a Catholic radio station defamed the Jewish people and violated Article 257 of the Criminal Code. Prosecutors refused to pursue the matter. [2]

In February 2006, readers complained about an issue of the magazine Machina, which featured the likeness of the singer Madonna superimposed upon a depiction of the Virgin Mary with Jesus. Prosecutors refused to pursue the matter. [2]

On 28 October 2005, a Provincial Court convicted Leszek Bubel of violating Article 257 of the Criminal Code by publishing anti-Semitic literature. The Court sentenced Bubel to a fine. [2]

In December 2001, Members of the League of Polish Families complained that the artwork called "Passion" by Nieznalska was a violation of Article 196 of the Criminal Code. In July 2003, the Provincial Court in Gdańsk found Nieznalska guilty. The court sentenced her to a half-year "restriction of freedom," ordered her to do community work, and required her to pay all trial expenses. On 28 April 2004, the District Court in Gdańsk quashed the previous judgment. [2]

In October 2001, the prosecutor in Kraków received complaints that the movie Dogma violated Article 196 of the Criminal Code. The prosecutor refused to pursue the matter. [2]

In August 1994, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Poznań received complaints about the magazine Wprost, which featured a cover that had the Virgin Mary and Jesus wearing gas masks. The prosecutor refused to pursue the matter. [2]

Related Research Articles

A hate crime is crime where a perpetrator targets a victim because of their physical appearance or perceived membership of a certain social group.

Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". The Encyclopedia of the American Constitution states that hate speech is "usually thought to include communications of animosity or disparagement of an individual or a group on account of a group characteristic such as race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or sexual orientation". There is no single definition of what constitutes "hate" or "disparagement". Legal definitions of hate speech vary from country to country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defamation</span> Any communication that can injure a third partys reputation

Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions that are falsifiable, and can extend to concepts that are more abstract than reputation – like dignity and honour. In the English-speaking world, the law of defamation traditionally distinguishes between libel and slander. It is treated as a civil wrong, as a criminal offence, or both.

Seditious libel is a criminal offence under common law of printing written material with seditious purpose – that is, the purpose of bringing contempt upon a political authority. It remains an offence in Canada but has been abolished in England and Wales.

Volksverhetzung, in English "incitement to hatred", "incitement of popular hatred", "incitement of the masses", or "instigation of the people", is a concept in German criminal law that refers to incitement to hatred against segments of the population and refers to calls for violent or arbitrary measures against them, including assaults against the human dignity of others by insulting, maliciously maligning, or defaming segments of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedition Act (Singapore)</span> Statute of the Parliament of Singapore

The Sedition Act 1948 was a Singaporean statute law which prohibited seditious acts and speech; and the printing, publication, sale, distribution, reproduction and importation of seditious publications. The essential ingredient of any offence under the Act was the finding of a "seditious tendency", and the intention of the offender is irrelevant. The Act also listed several examples of what is not a seditious tendency, and provides defences for accused persons in a limited number of situations.

Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred is a crime under the laws of several countries.

Freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Denmark are ensured by § 77 of the constitution:

Boris Vladimirovich Stomakhin is a Russian radical political activist, and editor of "Radical politics" periodical. He was convicted three times for hate speech, incriminating him advocating a dismemberment of the Russian Federation and inciting ethnic and religious hatred, and justification of terrorism. The convictions have been questioned by human rights organizations ARTICLE 19, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Union of Councils for Soviet Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legality of Holocaust denial</span>

Between 1941 and 1945, the government of Nazi Germany perpetrated the Holocaust: a large-scale industrialised genocide in which approximately six million Jews were systematically murdered throughout German-occupied Europe. Since World War II, several countries have criminalised Holocaust denial—the assertion by antisemites that the genocide was fabricated or has been exaggerated. Currently, 17 European countries, along with Israel and Canada, have laws in place that cover Holocaust denial as a punishable offence. Many countries also have broader laws that criminalise genocide denial as a whole, including that of the Holocaust. Among the countries that have banned Holocaust denial, Russia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania have also banned Nazi symbols. Additionally, any expression of genocide justification is also a criminal offence in several countries, as is any attempt to portray Nazism in a positive light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of speech by country</span>

Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. "Speech" is not limited to public speaking and is generally taken to include other forms of expression. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. Nonetheless, the degree to which the right is upheld in practice varies greatly from one nation to another. In many nations, particularly those with authoritarian forms of government, overt government censorship is enforced. Censorship has also been claimed to occur in other forms and there are different approaches to issues such as hate speech, obscenity, and defamation laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blasphemy law</span> Law prohibiting blasphemy

A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting blasphemy, which is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. According to Pew Research Center, about a quarter of the world's countries and territories (26%) had anti-blasphemy laws or policies as of 2014.

The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria prohibits blasphemy against Islam by using legislation rather than by using Sharia. The penalty for blasphemy may be years of imprisonment as well as a fine. Every Algerian child has an opportunity to learn what blasphemy is because Islam is a compulsory subject in public schools, which are regulated jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The hate speech laws in Australia give redress to someone who is the victim of discrimination, vilification or injury on grounds that differ from one jurisdiction to another. All Australian jurisdictions give redress when a person is victimised on account of skin colour, ethnicity, national origin or race. Some jurisdictions also give redress when a person is victimised on account of religion, disability, gender identity, HIV/AIDS status or sexual orientation.

The trial of Geert Wilders, a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, took place in the Netherlands in 2010 and 2011. Wilders was accused of criminally insulting religious and ethnic groups and inciting hatred and discrimination. He was found not guilty in June 2011.

Hate speech laws in England and Wales are found in several statutes, and differ slightly from the laws adopted in Scotland. Expressions of hatred toward someone on account of that person's colour, race, sex, disability, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, gender reassignment, or sexual orientation is forbidden. Any communication which is threatening or abusive, and is intended to harass, alarm, or distress someone is forbidden. The penalties for hate speech include fines, imprisonment, or both.

The hate speech laws in France are matters of both civil law and criminal law. Those laws protect individuals and groups from being defamed or insulted because they belong or do not belong, in fact or in fancy, to an ethnicity, a nation, a race, a religion, a sex, a sexual orientation, or a gender identity or because they have a handicap. The laws forbid any communication which is intended to incite discrimination against, hatred of, or harm to, anyone because of his belonging or not belonging, in fact or in fancy, to an ethnicity, a nation, a race, a religion, a sex, a sexual orientation, or a gender identity, or because he or she has a handicap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination</span> 1969 United Nations human rights instrument

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of understanding among all races. The Convention also requires its parties to criminalize hate speech and criminalize membership in racist organizations.

Hate speech is public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. Hate speech is "usually thought to include communications of animosity or disparagement of an individual or a group on account of a group characteristic such as race, colour, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or sexual orientation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Offending religious feelings (Poland)</span> Polish blasphemy law

Offending religious feelings is a blasphemy law in Poland. According to Article 196 of the Penal Code: "Whoever offends the religious feelings of other persons by publicly insulting an object of religious worship, or a place designated for public religious ceremonies, is liable to pay a fine, have their liberty limited, or be deprived of their liberty for a period of up to two years."

References

  1. ↑ "The Constitution of the Republic of Poland". 2 April 1997. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Venice Commission (2008). "Analysis of the Domestic Law Concerning Blasphemy, Religious Insult and Inciting Religious Hatred in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Turkey, United Kingdom on the Basis of Replies to a Questionnaire" (PDF). Council of Europe. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Tilles, Daniel (19 February 2020). "Polish far-right leader indicted for antisemitic hate speech and Holocaust denial". notesfrompoland.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  4. ↑ Day, Matthew (5 May 2010). "Pop star claims Bible written by drunks". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  5. ↑ "Polish pop singer charged over Bible remarks". CalcuttaTube. 5 May 2010. Archived from the original on 10 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Adam Darski". Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
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