Adam Bodnar, head of the Ministry of Justice, continues to push the issue of the “hate speech” law. He couldn’t resist even today…
“Hate Speech Law” or Censorship?
As a reminder—a few days ago, President Andrzej Duda decided to refer the March 6 amendment to the Penal Code to the Constitutional Tribunal for preventive review, the President’s Office announced on Thursday. The so-called “hate speech law” expands the catalog of criteria for crimes motivated by prejudice.
The justification published by the President’s Office indicates that, according to the president, there are doubts about whether the law complies with the constitutional principle of legal clarity.
It was also noted that “the challenged provisions raise concerns from the perspective of safeguarding freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 54(1) of the Constitution.”
What Does Bodnar Say?
Almost immediately after this decision was announced, politicians from the December 13 coalition began criticizing the president. This included Bodnar himself, who is very keen on ensuring that almost anything can be classified as “hate speech”—including “crimes” related to age and gender.
“Fighting hate speech is not ‘ideology.’ It is an attempt to address one of the most serious problems in Polish social life. Everyone sees it—hate speech poisons public debate, interpersonal relationships, and social relations. It is increasingly a source of violence, contempt, and human harm,” he wrote on X.com.
But this was not the politician’s only post on the subject.
Supposedly About an Anniversary, But Really About…
Today marks the 82nd anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Within less than a month, the Germans murdered around 12,000 Jews at that time. Following the lead of other politicians in his coalition, Adam Bodnar posted on X to mark the occasion. However—first, he did not even mention that the crimes were committed by the Germans, and second—he used the anniversary to… write about hate speech. Is this behavior fitting for a minister…?
“82 years ago, Jews living in the Warsaw Ghetto, condemned to extermination, stood up against violence and hatred. Their act remains an eternal testament to courage and an unyielding will for freedom. To honor the memory of the insurgents and their heroic uprising, I visited the grave of Marian Turski—a man who dedicated his entire life to fighting for the memory of Holocaust victims and guarding the truth from oblivion. He taught us that remembering those events is a debt to those who no longer have a voice. He called on us to abandon indifference in the face of contempt and human suffering. Just as the Ghetto Uprising was an act of defiance against a brutal system, we too must oppose all forms of prejudice, xenophobia, and division.”
Of course—prejudice, xenophobia, but not a word about the most important facts.