The Polish Center for Monitoring Xenophobic and Racist Behavior has filed a lawsuit against President Duda over his comments regarding the latest work of the world-renowned director Agnieszka Holland. Her latest film addresses the situation at the Polish-Belarusian border and the issues related to the presence of migrants in that region of Europe.
As previously reported by Radio Poland, "Green Border" was awarded the prestigious Golden Lions in Gdynia last weekend. While accepting the award, Agnieszka Holland emphasized that "the pain surrounding the situation at the Belarusian border" continues and has even worsened despite the change in the Polish government.
Last year, during an interview with Polish Television (TVP), Andrzej Duda, discussing this movie, stated:
I’m not surprised that Border Guard officers who watched this film used the phrase: ”Only pigs sit in the cinema,” which we know from the time of the Nazi occupation when propaganda films were shown in our theaters.
For calling Polish citizens "pigs" and intentionally using a term widely regarded as offensive, President Duda will have to defend himself in court (the trial will be conducted remotely and available for online viewers to follow live). According to the Center for Monitoring Xenophobic and Racist Behavior, this statement was an insult to the Polish people.
We did it and sued Andrzej Duda for calling Poles pigs. Now we face what will undoubtedly be a difficult trial, but it’s worth it - we want Andrzej Duda to go down in history as the first president to be taken to court by the Polish people, representatives of the institution that filed the lawsuit stated via social media.
During an interview with Marcin Wrona from TVN24, President Duda argued that his statement, which sparked widespread indignation, was merely a quote taken from representatives of the Polish Border Guard.
Andrzej Duda has faced criticism multiple times for remarks that have stirred public outrage. The president has demonstrated his homophobic stance toward LGBT individuals, stating: "They are not people; they are an ideology."
The world also took notice of one of Poland's most popular writers, Jakub Żulczyk, who was sued for calling President Duda a "moron" in one of his Facebook posts. The writer faced up to three years in prison for publicly insulting the president, but the case eventually reached the Supreme Court and was ultimately dismissed.
Source: Radio Poland/PAP/TVN24/X/@OmzRi
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