Martin Mycielski and Bartosz Kramek win against Joanna Lichocka. Court discontinues SLAPP proceedings

8 February 2024 | Author: Natalia Melnychenko

Another failed attempt by a Law and Justice (PiS) activist to intimidate citizens. On 21 November 2023, the Warszawa-Śródmieście District Court discontinued the lawsuit that Law and Justice (PiS) MP Joanna Lichocka brought against our Foundation colleagues Bartosz Kramek and Martin Mycielski for billboards showing her extending a middle finger. In its reasoning, the court stated that the billboards depicting her constituted “acceptable criticism in a democratic state”.

Let us recall, at the beginning of 2020, Lichocka used the vulgar gesture towards opposition MPs during a vote session of the Sejm, where almost PLN 2 billion in compensation from the state budget for TVP and Polskie Radio was voted through. At the same time, the opposition’s proposal to allocate this amount to oncology was rejected.

In response, Bartosz and Martin, founders of the Spontaniczny Sztab Obywatelski, organised a campaign to erect more than 180 billboards across Poland, thanks to a successful fundraiser on Zrzutka.pl. The captions for the posted photo of Lichocka gesturing at the Sejm read: “PiS salutes cancer patients” or “PLN 2 billion for TVP instead of cancer treatment. PiS salutes the sick”, while below in smaller font it was explained: “PiS passed a bill donating PLN 2 billion to public media instead of oncology”.

As the campaign took its toll, in September 2020 Joanna Lichocka demanded an apology from the campaign organisers and a donation to a charity fund. Faced with a refusal, five months later, she filed a private defamation lawsuit against the campaign initiators. According to her, the Chair of the Supervisory Board and the Vice-President of the Board of the Open Dialogue Foundation had slandered her “for conduct that humiliated her in the public eye and put her at risk of losing the confidence needed to exercise her mandate“. The court, however, disagreed with this statement.

“The placement of the victim’s image resulted from her behaviour during the Sejm session and had previously been disseminated by numerous nationwide media“, and the activists’ actions “constituted acceptable criticism in a democratic state of the actions taken by a political party and its individual MPs“, the court’s reasoning reads. “The defendants did not create the image, it is an image that appeared in the media after the heated debate in the Sejm, it was also used by others, with captions that may not have been liked – and worse, went too far — whereas here it was an assessment of the event that the defendants, like other people, were entitled to. I do not draw the conclusion from this that Ms Lichocka took money from someone, it says PiS there. Objectively, one cannot draw the conclusion that Ms Joanna Lichocka has been insulted or slandered by this, much less that it has deprived her of the confidence needed to hold her mandate as an MP,” it added.

The court also reasoned orally: “Persons in public office, being a Member of the Polish Parliament, representing the nation, must be aware — and I think they know this if they are adults and in full legal capacity — that such their mission is burdened by the fact that their actions are judged by the public, which means that they can be judged both positively and negatively, that’s what it’s all about.”

“We regard this case as another failed attempt by Law and Justice functionaries to intimidate citizens. […] We are also happy, by the way, that with this unnecessary lawsuit MP Lichocka reminded the Poles again about the rudeness, excessive pride and arrogance of the previous government,” commented Marcin Mycielski in an interview with OKO.press.

This is another won case in the court battles with Law and Justice politicians and the media supporting them. We would like to thank, as always, the reliable lawyers of the Lach Janas Biernat law firm for their efficient representation.

Spontaniczny Sztab Obywatelski operates independently of the Open Dialogue Foundation.

In the media:

Read also:

Cover photo: Agencja Gazeta/Patryk Ogorzałek

Download court decision