Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Polish court to hear defamation case brought by Kaczynski

A court in Warsaw is to hear a defamation case brought by Poland's most powerful politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, against a journalist who publicly alleges the leader of the country's ruling party is gay

Via AP news wire
Tuesday 06 September 2022 10:52 BST

A court in Warsaw on Tuesday is opening a defamation case brought by Poland’s most powerful politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, against a journalist who publicly alleges the leader is gay.

Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling right-wing party, is demanding an apology and a retraction from journalist and YouTuber Jan Pinski, who made the allegations on his channel last year. He claimed that hiding his sexuality leaves Kaczynski open to blackmail.

Rumors that Kaczynski, a 73-year-old bachelor, is homosexual, have been circulating for years. They especially come in reaction to his and the government’s conservative and hostile approach to the LGBTQ community, and refusal to allow same-sex marriage in Poland.

It was not immediately clear whether Kaczynski would be present at the start of the case before the capital city's District Court.

Kaczynski is also demanding that Pinski pay an amount of money to a hospice.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in