The association against anti-Semitism and xenophobia “Open Republic” announced in a statement that 12 people vouched for Margot, an activist who fought for the rights of LGBT people, arrested two weeks ago. Among them were, among others Father Adam Boniecki, Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich, Jacek Taylor, an attorney defending political prisoners of communism, and actress Maja Komorowska.
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On August 7, the District Court in Warsaw made a decision on two-month detention for Margot from the Stop Bzdurom collective, who is suspected of damaging a van with homophobic slogans and an attack on its driver. The activist’s arrest led to a spontaneous protest, during which the police detained 48 people. The detainees heard charges, incl. participate in a gathering.
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The events of two weeks ago were widely commented on. The argument was repeatedly raised that placing an activist in custody for two months is a preventive measure inadequate to the alleged act.
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“Fears about the safety of the detained are justified”
In its statement, the “Otwarta Rzeczpospolita” association emphasizes that detention is a measure “very severe and requires reliable justification”. “It is worth emphasizing that the prosecutor’s office does not deny that for over a month between the commission of the act and the arrest, Margot followed the principles of the preventive measure originally applied in the form of police supervision,” reads the statement.
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As its authors note, detention should only be applied if there is certainty about compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure. “Was there really a real risk of drowning in this case if the recordings of the event are available on the Internet? Is there a risk that Margot would not show up since there were no problems before? Is there a real risk of repeating the offense? What are the arguments for this?” – ask the authors of the statement.
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“Leaving the assessment of the incident with the truck to the court that has the evidence at its disposal, many people were outraged by the application of such a radical preventive measure to Margot. In the situation of the growing campaign against non-heteronormative persons in Poland, concerns about the safety of the detained activist, as well as about her mental condition, are justified. Many circles have already spoken in the case and many people have decided that it is their moral duty to help Margot, for whom the arrest may be a traumatic experience “- emphasizes the association.
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12 people vouched for Margot
The form of assistance is to be a guarantee signed by 12 people – clergy, scientists, artists and former oppositionists. Such a bail is mentioned in article 272 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: “A surety that the accused will appear on each summons and will not unlawfully obstruct the proceedings, may also be taken from a trustworthy person.” Guaranteed for Margot:
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– Halina Bortnowska-Dąbrowska, former editor of the monthly “Znak”, and co-founder of the Hospice in Nowa Huta. He has many years of experience in working with prisoners, MA in philosophy (ethics) at the Catholic University of Lublin;
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– Fr. Adam Boniecki, retired editor-in-chief of Tygodnik Powszechny;
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– Fr. Michał Jabłoński, an Evangelical Reformed clergyman;
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– Ewa Jassem, full professor at the Medical University of Gdańsk, head of the Chair and Clinic of Pneumology;
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– Jacek Jassem, full professor at the Medical University of Gdańsk, correspondent member of the Polish Academy of Learning and Academia Europea;
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– Maria Janina Komorowska-Tyszkiewicz (Maja Komorowska), professor at the Theater Academy, member of the Primate’s Council, during martial law involved in the Committee to Aid the Interns, visited prisons;
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– Sylwia Poleska-Peryt, English teacher, teacher. In the People’s Republic of Poland she was in opposition and was a political prisoner and a person repressed for political reasons;
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– Paula Sawicka, psychologist and social activist. In the Polish People’s Republic – in the democratic opposition. In free Poland, he works for the civil society;
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– Michael Schudrich, the chief rabbi of Poland;
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– Jacek Taylor, in the 1970s and 1980s, as an attorney he was involved in the defense of political prisoners, and in the spring of 1989 he participated in the work of the Round Table in the Law and Courts Reform Team;
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– Fr. Alfred Marek Wierzbicki, Roman Catholic priest, researcher and teacher at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin;
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– Stanisław Wojciechowicz, the first Reformed rabbi of the Jewish Religious Community in Warsaw, vice-chairman of the Polish Council of Christians and Jews.
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The order on the surety of a trustworthy person is issued by the court or the prosecutor in the form of a decision which specifies the obligations of the suspect or accused person. These may include, for example, compliance with the ban on leaving a specific place of stay, reporting at specified intervals at the police station, compliance with the ban on contacting the victim or staying in certain places.
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Letter of people of culture to the President of the European Commission
People of culture previously expressed their solidarity with the arrested activist in a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “We are in solidarity with activists, activists and their allies, brutally treated and detained during protests, detained and intimidated. We express deep concern about the future of democracy in Poland, a country with an admirable history of struggle for freedom and resistance to totalitarianism” – we read in the letter . He was signed by, among others Pedro Almodovar, Isabelle Huppert, Olga Tokarczuk, Agnieszka Holland and Paweł Pawlikowski.
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Why did the court arrest the activist? According to the prosecutor’s office, the court applied the arrest because of the fear of escape and the fear that she would attempt to unlawfully influence the prosecution proceedings. The tvn24.pl portal requested the prosecutor’s office to disclose the court’s decision together with the justification. She refused.
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“Due to the ongoing evidentiary activities carried out in the proceedings against Michał S., at the present stage of the investigation, the documents in the case files will not be made public. The above is dictated by the need to secure the proper course of the ongoing preparatory proceedings” – Aleksandra Skrzyniarz replied to us on August 13, spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw.
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photo-source">Main photo source: Adam Stepien / Agencja Gazeta
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