Search results for "hate crimes"

The fear of refugees helped the Law and Justice to win the parliamentary elections of 2015. At that time, the party used to expressly promote its anti-immigration philosophy, which was soon reflected by the growing ratio of assaults on the grounds of racism and xenophobia.

The last five years have been a period of rapid changes on the political scene in Poland – in 2015, presidential and parliamentary elections were held, and the election campaigns often referred to the dangers of immigration, aroused fears of refugees or Islamists, and appealed to anti-Semitic and anti-Ukrainian sentiments. At the same time, Europe faced the challenge of receiving and integrating large groups of immigrants and refugees from Africa and the Middle East. Although this process was not visible in Poland, it became a subject of lively public debate, accompanied by real government action in this field.

Over 70 instances of hate crimes on racist, homophobic, anti-semitic, xenophobicand other grounds. This grim record is a result of Open Dialogue’s latest investigation into hate crimes in Poland. The report covers the period stretching from January to December 2019, and complements the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) annual reporting on “hate incidents” across the OSCE area. Most alarmingly, the report reveals a hate crime-conducive environment with the authorities turning a blind eye, or – worst still – being complicit in endorsing and spreading intolerance, stigmatisation, discrimination or even incitement to violence.

According to the analysis of the Ministry of Justice, in the first half of 2018, 890 cases of hate crimes were reported to Polish law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, not all criminal acts motivated by racial, xenophobic, homophobic hatred, etc., are reported to law enforcement authorities.

On 22 November 2019, Foundation representatives took part in the workshop ‘Addressing Intolerant Discourse, Hate Speech and Hate Crimes in the Visegrád Group’ in Prague. The aim of the meeting was to exchange experiences and views regarding combating hate speech in the countries of the Visegrád Group.

Preface Since the Law and Justice (PiS)-led United Right Coalition [Composed of PiS and its two junior partners – Solidarna Polska (United Poland, led by the Justice Minister/Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro) and, until August 2021, Porozumienie Jarosława Gowina (Jarosław Gowin’s Agreement)] took power in 2015, an unprecedented politicisation of the public prosecution has occurred, which has […]

Executive summary On 31 October 2022, a newly created, supposed NGO, the Institute for European Integrity (IEI), published an entry for the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) as part of its “NGO Watchlist.” IEI labelled the Foundation as an organisation with alleged “strong links to individual(s) sanctioned or criminally prosecuted by a European Union, United States […]

In the weeks of 26 September – 7 October the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Warsaw-based Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) held its 2022 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, serving as a summit, or plenary session, of the OSCE’s human rights institution. The conference was attended by OSCE […]

Bartosz Kramek’s involvement in the defence of the rule of law and supporting civil society in Poland started with his 2017 Facebook post, listing his recommendations for peaceful civil disobedience actions against the increasingly-authoritarian PiS government. His most notable achievements include: As a leader of the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF): Coordinating the largest Polish support […]

On July 20th, 2021, we organised an online hearing on the worrisome situation in Poland regarding police brutality against peaceful protestors. The event has also featured the presentation of our “Appeal against Brutality and Impunity of Police in Poland” with the attached list of recent instances of police abuse against activists and demonstrators, and signed […]

The tumultuous year 2020 is coming to an end. It is time to sum up what we have managed to do in the fight for the rule of law in Poland. The pandemic was not an easy time – forced austerity and accelerated adaptation to new conditions. We closed our offices and moved our democracy […]

Poll results have demonstrated that Poles are the most liked nation in Ukraine, ahead of Belarussians and Canadians. Yet, we do our best to make Ukrainians stop liking us.

Bota Jardemalie: The way from Harvard law graduate to prominent human rights defender “Human rights are the cornerstone of our freedom and dignity, the basis for economic prosperity, and the foundation for a just and equitable society. Defending them in Kazakhstan is crucial because, without these fundamental rights, my country has no future. Without them, […]

Bitcoin mining is already an industry at the forefront of utilising sources like solar and wind. (…) I strongly encourage the European Union, the European Commission and ESMA to support the development and expansion of Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining in Europe and across the globe.Bob Burnett In a recent report, the European Central Bank characterised […]

 “We believe that, as the new Prosecutor General, you have not only a unique opportunity, but also a moral obligation, to conduct an effective review of a number of politically motivated cases. We hope that, in the case of investigations that show a so-called reasonable suspicion of insufficient grounds for prosecution, independent prosecutors will take […]