A former priest from Bolesławiec and a celebrity from near Lubań have accused Bolesławiec journalists of defamation. The case concerns a film published on the istotne.pl website at the end of 2023. The material concerned the two men’s long-standing relationship and the reactions of people associated with the Bolesławiec basilica.
After the material was broadcast, the priest and the celebrity sued the istotne.pl editorial team. They claim that the report defamed them and was untrue.
The istotne.pl journalists, in turn, believe that the lawsuits are an attempt to silence the media so that they will not show the reality of the Church and what priests do. “Everything we published in the report is true. The celebrity himself recorded and uploaded most of the material from trips and parties to the Internet. He removed it from the web after our report,” says Krzysztof Gwizdała, the editor-in-chief of the website.
The criminal trial begins on Monday before the District Court in Bolesławiec. It will be held behind closed doors because the priest and the celebrity do not want people to be able to listen to the hearing and their testimony. The journalists will, however, appoint trusted representatives who will be allowed to attend the trial.