Credit: Unsplash.
CNA Staff, Jan 20, 2021 / 04:30 am (CNA).- The trial of three activists who distributed posters depicting Poland’s Black Madonna icon with a rainbow halo will resume next month following a tumultuous opening hearing.
Three women Elżbieta Podleśna, Anna Prus, and Joanna Gzyra-Iskandar went on trial on Jan. 13 accused of offending religious feelings, a crime punishable in Poland by up to two years in prison.
A crowd of mainly young people gathered outside the courtroom, chanting slogans such as “A secular, not Catholic Poland” and “The rainbow does not offend.”
Local media reported that at one point the chanting was so loud that it was difficult for the hearing to proceed. Following testimonies from the first witnesses, the trial was adjourned until Feb. 17.
Three Polish women face up to two years in jail for LGBTQ+ friendly poster
“I do not consider my action offensive, I was confirmed by many active Catholics who denied any offensive character.”
Three LGBTQ+ activists in Poland have been put on trial for carrying posters that showcased the Virgin Mary and Jesus with rainbow halos.
Back in April 2019 Elżbieta Podleśna, Anna Prus, and Joanna Gzyra-Iskandar Podleśna carried the posters during a peaceful Pride protest.
According to the popular polish publication
Wyborcza.pl, the three women are facing up to two years of prison for offending the church and religious feelings.
The activists could face up to two years in prison if convicted on charges of offending religious sentiment and desecration of Poland s most revered icon, the Mother of God of Czestochowa.
Three Women Face Jail Time for Rainbow Art at Peaceful Protest
They were pushing back on a homophobic display and now face years in prison. January 15 2021 1:08 PM EST
Three women went on trial on Poland Wednesday for publicly carrying posters showing the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus with rainbow halos in April 2019. According to a report in the Polish-language website
“The immediate reason for our action was the homophobic and hurtful installation,” Podleśna told the court.
Co-defendant Prus agreed, declaring the church display was “hatred, contempt, aggression.”
The hateful display in question showed a cross surrounded by signs listing actions considered crimes by the church. They included words like betrayal, lie, homosexuality, and LGBT. In protest, the three women altered a nationally revered portrait of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus for the 2019 Pride protest.
Three human rights activists went on trial in Poland yesterday for putting the LGBT rainbow on an image of the Black Madonna, a revered figure in Roman Catholicism.
Elzbieta Podlesna, Anna Prus and Joanna Gzyra-Iskandar face up to two years in prison if found guilty of desecration and offending religious sentiment.
During protests in 2019, they replaced the halos in the icon of the Black Madonna and baby Jesus with the LGBT rainbow flag.
The activists said they were rallying against what they saw as the hostility of Poland s influential Catholic Church toward LGBT people.
A group of supporters with rainbow flags and banners reading The Rainbow Gives No Offense gathered outside the court.