A Warsaw court ordered Zbigniew Ziobro to apologize to director Agnieszka Holland and pay 50,000 złoty to charity after comparing her film to Nazi propaganda.
Ziobro Found to Have Violated Holland’s Personal Rights
Former Justice Minister and PiS politician Zbigniew Ziobro has been ordered by the District Court in Warsaw to apologize to director Agnieszka Holland for comparing her film “Green Border” to Nazi propaganda and to donate 50,000 złoty to the “Children of the Holocaust” Association.
X Posts at the Heart of the Case
The case stemmed from Ziobro’s posts on X (formerly Twitter) comparing Holland’s film to the Third Reich and the USSR.
Holland’s Representatives Announce the Ruling
Holland’s representatives, lawyers Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram and Michał Wawrykiewicz, announced the verdict on Tuesday. The dispute concerned Ziobro’s statements – made while he was Minister of Justice – from autumn 2023, attacking Holland and her film “Green Border,” which addresses the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border.
Ziobro’s Controversial Statements
Gregorczyk-Abram pointed out that the case included Ziobro’s X posts comparing Holland and her film to Nazi and Soviet propaganda. She cited a September 2023 post referencing the premiere of a Belarusian propaganda film about the situation of Belarusians in pre-war Poland. Ziobro had written, “Was Holland inspired by Lukashenko? The Soviets and Hitlerites used propaganda films to destroy the image of Poland and Poles. Today, the authors have changed, but the methods remain the same…”
In another post from the same period, Ziobro stated that “in the Third Reich, Germany produced propaganda films showing Poles as bandits and murderers; today, Agnieszka Holland has that role…”
Holland Filed a Lawsuit
In response, the director filed a lawsuit against the politician for the protection of personal rights. The District Court’s XXV Civil Division in Warsaw issued the first-instance ruling on Tuesday.
Court Orders Public Apology and Social Media Post
The court mandates a public apology and a post on X with the following content: “I, Zbigniew Ziobro, hereby apologize to Agnieszka Holland for repeatedly violating her personal rights, in particular her name, honor, personal dignity, and artistic work, by comparing her and her film Green Border to the propaganda activities of the Third Reich and Stalinism and other criminal regimes, and by accusing her of a moral crime and using other shameful and stigmatizing terms. Zbigniew Ziobro.”
Financial Penalty and Charitable Donation
Ziobro is also obligated to pay 50,000 złoty to a charitable cause – specifically, to the “Children of the Holocaust” Association, which focuses on building a community of Holocaust survivors and preserving the memory of the Holocaust and the history of the Jewish community in Poland.
Concerns Raised About the Judge’s Appointment
Gregorczyk-Abram noted that a judge in the panel was appointed to the position in a flawed procedure involving the neo-KRS (so-called neo-judge). She emphasized that Holland’s representatives had unsuccessfully requested the disqualification of this judge throughout the proceedings, potentially forming the basis for an appeal.