The District Court in Bolesławiec punished an anti-abortion activist on 17 April who had displayed a banner showing a dismembered fetus in Bolesławiec’s Market Square in May 2024. The man was fined PLN 400 and must also cover the court costs.
In her reasoning, the judge referred to the two most recent rulings of the Supreme Court concerning photographs of dead fetuses and Article 141 of the Code of Petty Offences:
THESIS: (...) displaying large-format photographs of bloody human fetuses in a public place is contrary to cultural norms, the principles of social coexistence, accepted customs and standards of conduct in public places, violates public decency within the meaning of Chapter XVI of the Code of Petty Offences, and the photographs themselves, in the context of their public display, are indecent within the meaning of Article 141 of the Code of Petty Offences.
Decision of the Supreme Court of 16 February 2023 – I KK 471/22 – Recognition of anti-abortion banners and billboards as indecent drawings within the meaning of Article 141 of the Code of Petty Offences.
THESIS: The fundamental reason for recognizing the public display of photographs of dead fetuses as punishable is the indecency of such conduct resulting from the violation of the dignity due to the fetuses depicted in the photographs.
Decision of the Supreme Court of 12 October 2023 – I KK 50/23 – Punishability of the public display of photographs of dead fetuses.
It should be added that the city’s mayor, Piotr Roman, and his officials never once dissolved an assembly at which dead, bloody and dismembered human fetuses were displayed.
The anti-abortion activist who was found guilty of violating the regulations on 17 April came to Bolesławiec from Zielona Góra. He has no children, is not married and has no permanent occupation. He earns his only income at a foundation.
This is another penalty imposed on the organizers of assemblies in the Market Square. Another trial is still pending before the Bolesławiec court.
The judgment is not final.