Hate directed at the daughter of President Karol Nawrocki shocked public opinion, triggering a series of declarations about the swift identification of the haters and their punishment. Niezalezna.pl asked investigators for comprehensive information on the status of the prosecution proceedings. As we have learned, six months is far too short a time to identify – let alone hold accountable – online haters.
Seven-year-old Kasia Nawrocka captured the hearts of Poles with her behavior at her father Karol Nawrocki’s election night in June this year. Oblivious to the crowd, Kasia was having a great time – sending hearts and greetings, bringing smiles not only to those present at the venue but also to millions watching on television. At the time, no one expected that the child could become a target of haters associated with the so-called “smiling Poland.”
Although it is hard to imagine, a wave of aggressive behavior toward Kasia erupted online. Dozens of vile comments were and remain unfit for quotation.
“Every instance of hate against anyone, and especially against a child, is unacceptable. From the information available to me, the police have undertaken appropriate actions in this matter,” declared Jacek Dobrzyński at the time, assuring that the services were working intensively.
What has happened in the case of the hate directed at the president’s daughter over nearly six months? Has any of the haters been held accountable for their online posts? Niezalezna.pl addressed a series of questions to the spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, Prosecutor Antoni Skiba.
The response makes it clear – after several months, there are no tangible results of the proceedings.
“At present, several proceedings are being conducted at the Warsaw-Mokotów District Prosecutor’s Office, all at the in rem stage,” Prosecutor Skiba stated, pointing to the initial phase of the preparatory proceedings.
“Due to the significant number of notifications, often lacking source addresses (containing only screenshots), at the preliminary stage it was necessary to contact the Ombudsman for Children (RPD) as well as the individuals submitting the notifications, requesting more detailed data regarding the website and the link under which the post was published,” he added.
The response also shows that for nearly half a year prosecutors have been unable to obtain the necessary information from social media platforms: “Requests are being sent to social media services on an ongoing basis, and the waiting period for responses from the aforementioned social media platforms continues.“