A 41-year-old man who admitted to vandalizing the church of the Virgin in the village of Kosyuki (Podlaski Voivodeship) faces up to two years in prison. The man will appear in court in Białystok, where another trial will begin where he is accused. In this case, the man was distributing sheets of paper with offensive content in the church and, according to witnesses, he was spitting on the cross.
It was the end of July when the police received a notification that a statue of the Virgin Mary was damaged in the village of Kostyuki in the commune of Choroshch. Someone broke his hands and also damaged the head and face of this figure. There were three other warnings about the destruction of roadside crossings.
In mid-August, the police arrested a 41-year-old man from Białystok, who charged him with four counts of insulting the religious feelings of other people by publicly desecrating religious objects.
This 41-year-old man destroyed the statue of “Our Lady of the Newspaper” in Choroshch
Prosecutor: As he explained, he committed these actions because of his faith
This is punishable by a fine, restriction of liberty or up to two years in prison.
– the accused admitted and gave a brief explanation. As he explained, he committed these actions because of his faith, – says the head of the Białystok District Prosecutor’s Office, Elvira Laskowska.
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Regarding the suspended application of the so-called libertarian preventive measures – police control and prohibition of approaching symbols and places of religious worship.
He distributed cards with “blasphemous writings” in the church
The 41-year-old man should appear at the Białystok District Court, where another case related to him will be heard. The situation is similar. The man was accused of insulting religious sentiments and insulting a place of worship. According to the indictment, he spread insulting papers at the Cathedral Basilica in Białystok and, according to witnesses, spat on a cross.
These incidents were reported to the police by the parish priest in February. According to him, a man comes to the church whose behavior offends the religious feelings of other people – he insults the objects of religious worship and the place intended for the public performance of religious ceremonies. According to the priest of the church, before the service, the perpetrator distributes cards with “blasphemous writings” on the pews, pulpit and altar.
During this investigation, the 41-year-old man also confessed his guilt. He said that he is a non-believer and that his behavior was aimed at, as he himself said, “to repent for what happened to him in his life.”
In July, the residents took the statue for restoration and brought fresh flowers to “Gazeta w Choroszcz”.
It became clear that an expert should be appointed to examine the state of health of this 41-year-old man
In September, the case went to court, but before the trial began, the Białystok district court decided to appoint an expert to examine the defendant’s health. The trial has not yet started.
Both in that investigation and in the investigation of the destruction of the statue of the Virgin Mary and the crosses, the investigators determined that there was no need to conduct tests against the accused.
Source of the main photo: Gazeta w Choroshch
