Polish-Jewish activist exonerated by court over pro-Israel demonstration

Marcy Oster

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) – A Polish-Jewish activist on trial on charges stemming from a pro-Israel demonstration he organized was found not guilty by a Polish court.

The verdict in the trial against Tadeusz Markiewicz was issued on Thursday. Markiewicz in July 2014 organized a demonstration of support for Israel. He was accused by police of excessive prolongation of assembly and disturbing manifestation of pro-Palestinian activities.

Markiewicz had permission for the July 2014 rally in Warsaw to run until 4 p.m., but it lasted longer, leading to the indictment and the trial. The demonstration, which attracted about 80 people, was held during Israel’s war last summer with Hamas in Gaza

Markiewicz and his attorney had the support of Jerusalem Institute of Justice. “We are happy for this verdict, because the matter at stake was freedom of speech and assembly, which for some reason police tried to tamper with. We are proud that a voice supporting Israel was heard on the streets of Warsaw,” Markiewicz’s attorney, Monika Krawczyk, told JTA.

“This sentence should not be seen as a triumph of a Polish Jewish activist. It is a triumph of civil society and the legal standards it wants to live according to,” Markiewicz said after the verdict.

“I am glad that justice prevailed. In our difficult times, when BDS and an anti-Israeli approach is so common throughout Europe – there is hope in Poland,” Piotr Kadlcik, a Polish-Jewish activist who was a witness at the trial, told JTA.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.