“The convictions of Adam Borowski, Ms. Izabela, Żurek’s censorship regulation, the DSA law vetoed by President Nawrocki. This is a process of introducing censorship. You comment loudly on the authorities’ scandals? Prison. You write unflattering comments about the authorities’ favorites? Prison. You criticize leftist ideology? Prison,” wrote Sebastian Kaleta, former Deputy Minister of Justice, on social media.
Yesterday, the District Court in Toruń announced a verdict in the case of Ms. Izabela, a 67-year-old retiree accused of making threats against Jerzy Owsiak. The woman was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for one year, and ordered to pay 1,000 PLN to the president of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. The court fully granted the prosecutor’s motion.
“Die, man” – a comment posted online about Jerzy Owsiak – became the basis for criminal proceedings against the 67-year-old resident of Toruń. The entry was classified by the prosecution as a criminal threat and public incitement to commit a crime. In January 2025, the woman was detained in her home by the police. The operation involved, among others, the deputy city police chief and the head of the criminal division. The conviction of the 67-year-old retiree sparked a wave of outrage online.
Kaleta: a process of introducing censorship
Sebastian Kaleta also addressed the case today on social media. The former Deputy Minister of Justice, commenting on the court’s decision, recalled early December 2025, when reports by Niezalezna.pl and Gazeta Polska were confirmed regarding further plans by Waldemar Żurek concerning “hate speech.” They involved the creation of a special group – a network of prosecutor’s offices across Poland specializing in investigating bias-motivated crimes. Ultimately, as assumed by the Ministry of Justice, this will be a group of 30-45 prosecutors.
“In the context of yesterday’s conviction of Ms. Izabela and Żurek’s announcement of creating special prosecutorial teams to combat hate speech, I remind you that Żurek wants, by regulation, to order prosecutors to pursue people for something that IS NOT A CRIME, such as, for example, criticism of LGBT ideology,” Kaleta notes.
The former Deputy Minister of Justice also recalls: “There was an attempt to introduce the criminalization of this ideology into the Penal Code, but it failed. The Constitutional Tribunal ruled these provisions unconstitutional. You believe there are two sexes? Hate speech under Żurek’s regulation. Prosecutors will destroy you. You don’t use pronouns invented by leftists? Hate speech under Żurek’s regulation. Prosecutors will destroy you.”
On March 26 last year, the Senate passed a law on combating “hate speech.” In April, President Andrzej Duda referred it to the Constitutional Tribunal, which in September ruled it unconstitutional. However, Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek is trying to circumvent the Tribunal’s ruling and introduce its provisions into legal practice through a regulation.
“The convictions of Adam Borowski, Ms. Izabela, Żurek’s censorship regulation, the DSA law vetoed by President Nawrocki. This is a process of introducing censorship. You comment loudly on the authorities’ scandals? Prison. You write unflattering comments about the authorities’ favorites? Prison. You criticize leftist ideology? Prison,” Kaleta writes.
As he notes, “this is not normal, which is why it is worth looking at the full picture of the reality that the authorities are trying to create and implement step by step.”