The court defeat of Tomasz Grodzki has become the number one topic of the past 24 hours. The acquittal of Tomasz Sakiewicz in the high profile case reverberated widely both in major media outlets in Poland and across social media.
The District Court for Warszawa-Wola issued a verdict in the criminal case that had been ongoing for more than six years, initiated by the former Marshal of the Senate, Tomasz Grodzki, against the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Polska, Gazeta Polska Codziennie and the president of TV Republika, Tomasz Sakiewicz. The journalist was acquitted of the alleged acts of defamation and insult against Grodzki. The costs of the proceedings were imposed on Grodzki.
The written justification of the verdict was classified – the ruling is not final. Grodzki has already announced that he will file an appeal. Commenting on the verdict, Sakiewicz said on TV Republika that when he called Grodzki “a common bribe taker” he was aware it could end in a trial.
“I said what I think of him when he compared himself to Father Popiełuszko. As a teenage boy, I stood at the grave of Father Jerzy, and I could not imagine that someone like him would compare himself to Father Jerzy Popiełuszko,” he stressed.
“The fact that someone like that operates in politics means that everyone responsible for it has something serious on their conscience. I appeal for actions to ensure that such people no longer exist in Polish politics. Because they harmed ordinary people,” he concluded.
The court’s decision resonated widely online. Major news portals reported on it, and the topic dominated social media. Tomasz Sakiewicz’s post “I won today against Tomasz Grodzki!” gathered over 117,000 views and well above five thousand likes.
The rise in interest is also visible in the Google Trends tool. The algorithm recorded nearly a 400-percent increase in searches related to the Grodzki-Sakiewicz case.