Polish Musician on Trial for Desecrating the Virgin Mary

Case information
Incident date
Country
Poland
Place
Warsaw
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Satanist Symbols
Societal Sphere
  • Social Media
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Desecration
  • Intolerance towards Religious Symbols
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Censorship or Removal of Public Christian Symbols
Place of Incident
  • Internet
Bias Indicators
  • Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • No
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Image credit: facebook.com

Frontman of the extreme metal band 'Behemoth' Nergal is accused of having offended religious sentiment in Poland. He posted a picture in 2019 on his Facebook account where he is stepping on a picture of the Virgin Mary. The case came to court after the conservative groups 'Ordo Iuris' and 'The Patriotic Society' claimed that some people including a Polish politician felt offended by the published photo. In a first hearing earlier this year an unnamed religious expert testified that "treading with a shoe on the image of the Mother of God is an offence against religious feelings". Adam Darski, Nergals formal name, has been found guilty and has to pay a fine of €2.900 plus an additionally €678 as court costs. "The Satanist of Warsaw" as he is named on YouTube, is challenging the guilty verdict and the fine. The case is now expected to proceed to a full trial. According to article 196 of Poland's penal code, Darski is now facing a prison sentence of up to two years, if found guilty in the trial.

Sources