Three activists in Warsaw protesting
the anti-LGBT policies of Polish President Andrzej Duda have been
arrested and charged.
According to the
BBC, the activists hung rainbow pride flags on statues of Jesus
Christ, the astronomer Copernicus, and the Warsaw mermaid. Each
statue also was given a pink face mask.
Duda recently won re-election with an
anti-LGBT platform. His administration's blatant opposition to LGBT
rights has led to towns declaring themselves to be “LGBT-free
zones.”
(Related: EU denies funding to six
Polish towns that declared themselves “LGBT-free zones.”)
Polish police have charged the
protesters with desecrating monuments and offending religious
feelings, which is punishable by a fine or up to two years in prison.
It should be noted that anti-LGBT hate speech is not a crime in
Poland.
A recent AP
story focused on LGBT people fleeing Poland for safer refuge in
countries such as Spain, where gay and lesbian couples have had the
right to marry since 2005.
One such immigrant said that people are
leaving Poland to find “dignity and respect.”
“People want to feel that they are
protected by the government and not treated as an enemy,” he said.