Polish campaigner faces second trial over comments about perversion and Varadkar

A Polish anti-abortion campaigner who called Tánaiste Leo Varadkar a pervert on live television is to face a second trial after a Warsaw appeals court overturned last year’s dismissal of the case.

Kaja Godek in May 2018 linked Ireland’s abortion referendum result to the “bizarre” sexual orientation of the then taoiseach Mr Varadkar who, she claimed, flaunted “his perversion to the people”.

In further remarks on a television talkshow, she made unfounded links between paedophilia and homosexuality and alleged that homosexuals sought to adopt children to sexually abuse them.

A group of 16 Polish activists took legal action against Ms Godek, arguing that her remarks had added to an aggressive public mood against Poland’s LGBTQ+ community which in turn impinged negatively on their personal safety.

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Warsaw regional court dismissed their case in January of last year, saying it saw no avenue for legal remedy for individuals who felt impacted by a slur against a group. It also demanded medical proof that the plaintiffs were homosexual.

‘Scandalous remarks’

This logic was on Thursday overturned by the Warsaw appeals court, which ordered a second trial of the case over what it called Ms Godek’s “deeply hurtful and scandalous” remarks.

“It is a matter of simple mathematical logic that if anyone ascribes a feature to a particular group X, which only contains Xs, then it should not be surprise that any X in this group can feel wounded,” said Justice Malgorzata Kuracka, who added that she considered the “pointed” remarks to be hate speech.

Defence counsel Hubert Kubik said it was not unlawful to say something is perverted and that the term had no negative connotations. As 90 per cent of Poles were Catholics, and only 3 per cent were homosexual, he added that it could be said that they are not normal and thus could be described this way.

He also warned that allowing individuals take court action against remarks made about groups would open the legal floodgates.

Justice Kuracka disagreed, saying: “If you say something about people you have to be prepared to stand up later for what you’ve said.”

Poland’s public prosecutor, which joined the original case as well as Thursday’s appeal hearing, said the statements were given in a very particular context and did not directly affect the complainants because the pervert statement “referred only to the prime minister of Ireland”.

‘Great victory’

Wojciech Kozlowski, for the plaintiffs, described the successful appeal as a “great victory”.

“This is landmark court decision confirming that LGBT people deserve protection of their rights in case of general defamatory statements,” he said.

Prof Jakub Urbanik, one of the plaintiffs, said the ruling was a significant pushback against denigration of LGBTQ+ people from leading Polish politicians and their allies. It was also a welcome signal, he said, ahead of next Wednesday’s anticipated ruling at the European Court of Justice on controversial Polish court reforms.

“In spite of all the undue pressure on judges in Poland these days,” said Prof Urbanik, “they are standing up for human rights.”