Polish men who hung anti-Semitic posters released by court

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) – A Polish court ordered four men suspected of hanging anti-Semitic posters in Lublin released from custody.

The Lublin Regional Court ruled on Feb. 13 to release the men, who have been in custody since Jan. 24.

One of the men who had been held in prison is Krzysztof K., an employee of the museum at the former Majdanek Nazi death camp, who was suspended from his job after his arrest.

The men were caught by police while hanging posters depicting images of people dealing with Polish-Jewish issues. The posters also bore the slogans: “Zionists out of Lublin” and “Our streets, our homes.” At least two of the posters were printed on a printer belonging to the museum at Majdanek.

The court held that the men were not part of an organized group, and will not hinder the investigation.

Several days after the men were arrested, a threat was painted on the wall of the apartment of one of the police officers, reading: “You’ll end up like Papala.”

Marek Papala was a chief of the Polish police, shot dead near his home in 1998. The perpetrators remain unknown to this day.

The men have been putting up anti-Semitic posters since 2010, police believe.They could face up to 7 1/2 years in prison.