A political and public outcry has erupted in Poland after President Andrzej Duda pardoned Robert Bąkiewicz, a far-right activist convicted of assaulting a senior feminist demonstrator known as Grandma Kasia by pushing her down church steps.
In Poland, controversy erupted after President Duda (second from right) pardoned Robert Bąkiewicz (far right), a far-right activist who pushed a feminist senior activist known as Grandma Kasia (second from left) down church steps. Popular writer Jakub Żulczyk (far left) publicly comdemned the decision.Photo: Lidia Żulczyk/Katarzyna Augustynek/Tomasz Gzell/ PAP/Igor Smirnow/KPRP
The decision came less than a month before the end of Duda’s second term and has drawn condemnation from political leaders and cultural figures alike.
Bąkiewicz, a notorious figures on Poland’s nationalist right, has frequently made headlines over inflammatory statements and repeated court convictions.
FM Sikorski, PM Tusk slam Duda over far-right pardon
Earlier this year, as activists linked to Bąkiewicz’s Border Defense Movement appeared near parts of the Polish-German border, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski accused him of stoking fear and “repaying” the millions in public funding he received under the previous PiS government by fueling social tensions.
The head of Polish diplomacy said he was “appalled” that the president had praised a figure he described as a fascist.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the pardon “not only a moral scandal, but also a clear political signal that this entire camp – along with figures like Nawrocki, Kaczyński and Braun – will stop at nothing to regain power.”
Jakub Żulczyk mocks Andrzej Duda pardon with sarcastic awards proposal
One of Poland’s most prominent contemporary writers, Jakub Żulczyk – known for his unflinching social commentary and a previous legal battle with President Duda, who sued him for calling him a “moron” – also weighed in.
This time, with biting sarcasm, Żulczyk urged the president not to forget to decorate other notorious figures, including recently convicted neo-fascists nicknamed Ludwiczek and Jaszczur, and to award the prestigious Order of the White Eagle to far-right MEP Grzegorz Braun, who has been widely condemned for spreading Holocaust disinformation.
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Source: Facebook.com/Jakub Żulczyk/X/@donaldtusk/@sikorskiradek
