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The three women’s rights activists have been accused by the prosecution of endangering public health.
Back in February, we wrote that prosecutorial authorities acting on the recommendation of National Prosecutor Bogdan Święczkowski opened an investigation into whether the leaders of the Women’s Strike Movement committed a crime by causing an epidemic threat. We also mentioned that this was only one of three criminal charges brought against Marta Lempart.
The two remaining charges concern:
· Insulting police officers ("By using words commonly regarded as insults, on November 28, 2020, in Warsaw she insulted police officers during and in relation to the performance of their official duties, committing an illegal act under Art. 226 § 1 of the Criminal Code")
· Publicly praising criminal behavior ("On October 26, 2020, during an interview with journalist Beata Lubecka aired on Radio Zet, she praised the criminal behavior in the form of destroying the facades of church buildings and maliciously obstructing the public performance of a religious ceremony, committing an illegal act under Article 255 § 3 of the Criminal Code").
Last Friday (July 9), the spokeswoman for the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, Aleksandra Skrzyniarz, has been quoted by the Onet news portal as confirming the announced charges.
"The charges include endangering the health and lives of many people and causing an epidemiological threat in the form of exposing them to the possibility of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus and spreading the COVID-19 infectious disease by organizing and leading marches in Warsaw in October, November, and December 2020" - the spokeswoman said.
Additionally, Marta Lempart was also charged with insulting police officers and "publicly praising criminal behavior involving the destruction of church building facades and maliciously obstructing the public performance of a religious ceremony".
All three defendants have agreed to refer to them by their full names. So far, Agnieszka Czerederecka has been the only one to personally receive the indictment. She received it while being at work. The other two defendants we spoke to were traveling.
Marta Lempart: - Different allegations are leveled against us all the time. There are 70 different cases against me alone. Of course, this is all complete nonsense. No more than a week ago, the Supreme Court ruled that our demonstrations were perfectly legal. This case is only important insofar, as the prosecutor's office passed it to the pro-government media just now. Apparently, something important is going on, and the media must be preoccupied with our indictment, which, by the way, took a strangely long time to prepare, as the prosecutor kept being replaced. It only confirms that both the prosecution and the pro-government media cycle are managed single-handedly. The government using us to distract the public. The question is, what issue is this indictment supposed to cover?
Asked about the indictment, Klementyna Suchanow said that she learned about it from the media – "I have not received any mail regarding this matter, no one took care of it"- she says.
- This is obviously one of many cases that are pending against us. It is worth pointing out that the ultraconservative organization Ordo Iuris, together with the Fisei Defensor foundation, with which the Law and Justice MP Dariusz Masecki is affiliated, reported the case to the prosecution. The verdict, which was recently announced by the Supreme Court, proves that we can rest assured because the protests were legal. This is just another act in a comedy directed by PiS. Rather, the question is what is it supposed to cover? What is PiS up to, or what is it afraid of?
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