Prosecutor’s Office Drops Indictment Against Councillor Over Shrek Comparison to Presidential Couple

Following an internal reassessment of evidence, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Radomsko withdrew its indictment against a local councillor who compared the presidential couple to characters from Shrek.

Social Media Post Leads to Investigation

Last year, Radomsko County councillor Wojciech Ślusarczyk from the PSL party published a modified social media image showing Marta Nawrocki as a fairytale princess alongside the comment “And where is Shrek?”. This referenced the animated film series featuring the green ogre Shrek and his wife Fiona, who also turns out to be an ogresat the end of the tale. The graphic was reported to the prosecutor’s office by a local entrepreneur associated with the OdNowa association of PiS MP Marcin Ociepa.

Indictment Withdrawn After Court Denies Request

Investigators appointed an expert to assess whether the word “Shrek” insulted the president. At the end of June, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Radomsko filed an indictment against the councillor for insulting the head of state with the Piotrków Trybunalski District Court, carrying a penalty of up to three years in prison. Last week, the prosecutor’s office announced it had filed a motion with the court to return the case files. On Thursday, the Piotrków Trybunalski District Court did not consent to this, leading the prosecution to completely withdraw the indictment.

Prosecution Deems Further Prosecution Unnecessary

– I previously conducted a reassessment of the evidentiary material as part of internal supervision and came to the conclusion that further support for the indictment is pointless – explained Dorota Bzowska, head of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Radomsko.

Accused Councillor Calls the Case Nonsensical

The accused Wojciech Ślusarczyk admitted he expected this outcome and believed the case should never have involved the judiciary. – It was a nonsensical case. I did not use any direct insults towards the president. On a fairground-style image, I merely commented “And where is Shrek?”, because the person in that portrait reminded me of Princess Fiona. And that was all. It never crossed my mind that someone could interpret this as an attack on the majesty of the President of the Republic of Poland – he argued.

Defense Points to Context of the Shared Image

– The image of Marta Nawrocki transformed into a fairytale character was at that time posted and shared online by supporters of Karol Nawrocki, who praised the exceptional attractiveness of the presidential couple. There is sarcasm in the suspect’s action, but it was addressed towards the authors of the photo, not towards Marta Nawrocki and President Nawrocki – explained Michał Spólnicki, attorney for Wojciech Ślusarczyk, in an earlier interview with “Gazeta Radomszczańska”.