Attacks on the Press in 2004 - Poland
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | February 2005 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Attacks on the Press in 2004 - Poland, February 2005, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/47c566ecc.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
2004 Documented Cases – Poland
FEBRUARY 6, 2004
Posted: February 13, 2004
Andrzej Marek, Wiesci Polickie
LEGAL ACTION
Marek, editor-in-chief of the weekly Wiesci Polickie (Police News) in the western Polish town of Police, may be sent to jail for three months for refusing to apologize to a local official who has accused him of defamation. According to local news reports, Marek has until February 13 to appeal the court decision.
The charges stem from two articles that appeared in Wiesci Polickie in February 2001. The first article accused Piotr Misilo, then the appointed speaker of the Promotion and Information Unit of the Police City Council, of obtaining his post through blackmail. The second article criticized Misilo for using his public post to promote his private advertising business.
On February 6, 2004, the Szcecin District Court upheld its November 8, 2003, verdict sentencing Marek to three months behind bars. However, the court ruled that it would suspend the sentence if Marek published an apology to Misilo in his newspaper. Marek, who stands by his articles, has refused to apologize.
Human rights organizations in Poland have taken up the case, including the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights, which has asked Polish President Aleksander Kwa_niewski to pardon Marek.
