“What she did was wrong, but what is happening in Poland is much worse” announced the presiding Appellate Court judge.
“The words of Joanna Jaskowiak were heard by children which is obviously bad, but what is happening in Poland is much more evil” – according to judge Slawomir Jeksa. That’s how he justified his verdict acquitting the wife of the mayor of Poznan accused of using vulgar words when speaking during a public rally.
In May of 2018, the Poznan District Court found Joanna Jaskowiak guilty of the offense and imposed a fine of PLN 1,000. The woman appealed the verdict and she was acquitted by the Appellate Court.
Justifying the verdict, judge Slawomir Jeksa admitted that the words of the mayor’s wife were offensive, but according to him “it certainly was not a major crime.” In his opinion, the words were misinterpreted by the District Court because the political context was omitted.
– “The defendant used inappropriate words that were heard by children, which is illegal in Poland. But what is happening in Poland right now is much more hideous”. The judge continued to present his political views on the situation in Poland: “We have a string of violations of the Constitution in connection with limiting the freedom of assembly; taking over constitutional institutions, i.e. the Constitutional Tribunal, the National Council of the Judiciary, currently also the Supreme Court; violations of the separation of powers; and the refusal to publish judgments of the Constitutional Court” – proclaimed the judge.
The speech took place during a rally on March 8, 2018, when all over Poland women’s protests were held. The wife of Poznan’s mayor, Jacek Jaskowiak, spoke to a group of people – “I want to say ‘no’ to certain things! Since the ‘good change’ took power in Poland, various feelings had arisen in me and today I would like to share these feelings with you, especially with women! (…) In the end, I am at a shortage of words and want to say just one word, an obscene one: fu**k. I am fu***ed up”she said, and the crowd responded with applause.
