Painting of Elijah heavily Damaged with Axe in Krzeszowice

Case information
Incident date
Country
Poland
Place
Czerna
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Desecration
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Chapel
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Censorship or Removal of Public Christian Symbols
Place of Incident
  • Chapel
Bias Indicators
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated

On October 14 the Police Station in Krzeszowice was notified about damage to a chapel located in the Krzeszowice commune. A vandal used an axe to damage a historic painting depicting Elijah the Prophet of Carmel. The vandal then left the area on bike.

The police caught the 35-year-old on his bike with the axe that he used to destroy the religious painting. He was arrested and taken into custody.

The day after his arrest, the police took the suspect to Kraków-Krowodrza District Prosecutor's Office, where he was charged with damaging a monument and publicly insulting an object of religious worship, to which he admitted.

Sources