The incident took place in early October 2013 (we reported on it in our newspaper). Krzysztof K., head of the Gromadka Municipal Council [pełni tę funkcję nadal – przyp „ii”], was then attending a social gathering with his longtime acquaintance. An argument broke out, after which both men drove to their homes. Some time later, the chairman’s acquaintance drove to the defendant’s property and pulled out a machete.

Another confrontation followed, during which the chairman grabbed an axe and wounded his acquaintance in the left arm, thereby causing an injury resulting in more than seven days of ill health. However, as Violetta Niziołek, press spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Jelenia Góra, stressed in a conversation with “ii” at the time, the injuries were not very serious. What is more, the prosecutor told us then that the evidence did not indicate that the defendant had acted in self-defence.

In April last year, the prosecutor’s office filed an indictment against K. with the court. The man pleaded not guilty and refused to give evidence.

At the end of September last year, the Bolesławiec District Court issued a verdict in the case. At the end of February, the Jelenia Góra Regional Court upheld the ruling of the court in Bolesławiec. K. was fined PLN 3,000. The chairman must also pay PLN 1,500 in compensation to the injured party, cover the power-of-attorney fee and pay the court costs (more than PLN 5,000 in total).

We asked Gromadka Mayor Dariusz Pawliszczy for comment. As it turned out, he learned about the verdict from us. “Neither the prosecutor’s office nor the court informed us about it,” the mayor stressed. “If it had been a verdict barring Mr Krzysztof from serving as chairman of the Council, we would have been notified without a doubt. The office and the Council operate according to the same rules as before. What is more, Mr Krzysztof was once again elected chairman of the Council. He is doing well both as a local government official and as an employee of the State Forest District. The best assessment was the election, which once again allowed the chairman to win a mandate.

The judgment is final.

The chairman will not lose his position because, although the offence carries a prison sentence and would consequently automatically result in the loss of the right to serve as a councillor, the court imposed a fine under other provisions.