Onet has launched yet another attack on Karol Nawrocki. This time, just days before the final stretch of the election campaign, the outlet claims that the civic candidate for president “was involved in bringing prostitutes to guests of the Grand Hotel in Sopot.”
“For this pack of lies and hatred, I will file a civil lawsuit against Onet for the protection of personal rights, and I will also submit a private criminal indictment,” Nawrocki responded immediately. His campaign has also explained why they decided not to pursue a case under the electoral procedure.
On Monday, Onet published an article titled “Karol Nawrocki and the Secrets of the Grand Hotel.” Journalists Andrzej Stankiewicz and Jacek Harłukowicz allege that they spoke to former colleagues of Nawrocki, who reportedly claimed that the presidential candidate was involved in procuring prostitutes for guests of the Grand Hotel in Sopot while working there as a security guard.
Shortly after the article was published, Nawrocki reacted publicly. “Today, the real issue in Poland is political prostitution, which seeks to sell out the country for foreign money,” he wrote.
He affirmed that “for this pack of lies and hatred, I will sue Onet in civil court for the protection of personal rights and file a private criminal indictment.”
“Tusk’s and Trzaskowski’s media allies will not steal our victory,” he concluded in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Nawrocki deliberately chose not to pursue the matter under the electoral procedure, as explained in a separate post by his attorney, Bartosz Lewandowski.
The lawyer clarified that “according to prevailing court rulings, a press article does not constitute ‘electioneering’ within the meaning of the Electoral Code,” and therefore, “the electoral procedure may not apply in this case at all.”
“I have handled numerous cases under the electoral procedure, and the media always defend themselves in the same way,” he added.
He also emphasized that “initiating proceedings under the electoral procedure could very well end in failure on formal grounds, leading to headlines that the candidate lost the case.”