“I wasn’t surprised that Donald Tusk is suing me; I was surprised that he’s doing so over this cover. It reflects the lack of seriousness in the office he currently holds. He doesn’t understand that a Prime Minister cannot sue over satire—not because a politician should have thick skin, nor because it infringes on freedom of speech, but because it brings disrepute to the Polish state. By pursuing this lawsuit while aiming for power, he ridicules Poland,” said Tomasz Sakiewicz, Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Polska, during a free statement in court today.
The District Court in Warsaw held a hearing in the case brought by Donald Tusk against Gazeta Polska and Tomasz Sakiewicz. The matter concerns a controversial magazine cover dated July 20, 2022.
Following Tusk’s testimony, Sakiewicz took the stand. In his statement, the editor described the situation as “utterly absurd.”
“Something very harmful happened in public life following the Prime Minister’s remarks about Catholics—’If you are a Christian, you do not vote for PiS’ [the cover referenced this statement]. We received thousands of SMS messages, emails, and phone calls from people who were outraged and saddened. These were people who felt it was deeply unfair that someone whose political program includes significant opposition to Christian ideology and philosophy would deny others their right to faith and identity as Catholics,” Sakiewicz said.
“There were many ways to respond—through strong protest, pointing out the inappropriateness, absurdity, and falsehood of such claims. But we chose to respond with humor. We decided to ridicule it, as has been done historically with grotesque figures who claimed to dictate God’s will. God’s will belongs to God alone, regardless of the participants’ views in this dispute. So, we made it into satire. The cover was a compilation of traits observed in contradictory ideologies—though the least among them was Nazi. That’s how satire works: it exaggerates to absurdity, aiming to provoke laughter and diffuse tension,” he added.
Sakiewicz also pointed to the “negative emotions Donald Tusk has been injecting into Polish political life for years.”
“Especially when he’s harmed many people who cannot go to the media and defend their right to their beliefs. Tusk said, ‘If you vote for PiS, you cannot be a believer.’ Can anyone be more deeply hurt, especially those who have lived their entire lives devoted to faith? Perhaps, for Tusk, faith is just one of many ‘boxes’ people check. For others, faith is serious—it’s the essence of their lives. By stripping them of this right, he gravely wrongs them.
“Our response, though not proportionate, was to laugh at him. Frankly, given that I’ve faced several lawsuits from Donald Tusk, I wasn’t surprised by another. What surprises me is that he chose this case—it reflects poorly on the office he currently occupies. A Prime Minister suing over satire compromises the Polish state. By pursuing such a lawsuit while vying for power, he embarrasses our country,” Sakiewicz emphasized.
The entire court proceedings in Polish are provided below: