Police launch manhunt for man charged with slandering president

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Thursday August 24, 2006

Warsaw- Police in Poland launched a manhunt Thursday for a 31-year-old homeless man who failed to show up in court to face charges of slander against President Lech Kaczynski, Polish media reported. Slandering a sitting Polish head of state carries hefty penalties including fines and, in extreme cases, prison.

The young man identified only as Hubert H. was charged after he made abusive comments about Kaczynski, among others, in December of last year when police detained him for being drunk and disorderly in Warsaw's central railway station.

However, a representative of the Helsinki Foundation human-rights watchdog which will represent Hubert H. in court said the young man was just availing himself of his right to free expression as a citizen.

"One could say the words of Mr. Hubert were a kind of civil complaint using the kind of plain everyday language he is familiar with," Adam Bonar said, quoted by the PAP news agency.

He added that police should have closed the matter by fining Hubert H. and sending him to a cell in order to sober up.

The police officer who arrested the suspect said his verbal abuse of the president was strong enough to merit the charges later pressed by state prosecutors.

Meanwhile a representative of President Lech Kaczynski's chancellery said presidential officials had no influence on the case or ones similar to it.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur