Behemoth’s Nergal Faces New Blasphemy Charge for ‘Offending Religious Feelings’
Behemoth frontman Nergal (aka Adam Darski) has found himself facing yet another charge of blasphemy in his home country of Poland. The charge stems from a 2019 image Nergal posted to Facebook, where he’s stepping on artwork of the Virgin Mary on the set of a Me and That Man shoot.
In 2010, Nergal was made to stand trial on blasphemy charges for tearing up a Bible onstage. After a a long back-and-forth, Nergal won the case, but he also was targeted by the Polish government for a controversial T-shirt design, which resembled the Polish national emblem.
In a report from Super Express, details on Nergal’s latest charge were relayed by Aleksandra Skrzyniarz, a spokeswoman for the district prosecutor’s office in Warsaw. The rough English translation reads, “Adam D. is accused of, on September 25, 2019, acting via the internet, publicly insulting the object of Christian religious worship in the form of the person of the Mother of God, by placing a photo on the Facebook social network, on its official profile. presenting a damaged picture showing the image of the Mother of God with a shoe-legged figure placed in the place of the indicated figure, which was described by ’On the set’, thus offending the religious feelings of four people.”
“Representatives of Ordo Iuris and the Patriotic Society were informed about Nergal‘s misdemeanor. The Warsaw prosecutor added that during the investigation the victims were interrogated and an expert in the field of religious studies was appointed. The opinion clearly concludes that treading with a shoe on the image of the Mother of God is an offense against religious feelings.” [via PRP]
Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture has been described as an ultra-conservative, extreme anti-choice group by OpenDemocracy.net.
Earlier today (Feb. 8) on Facebook, Nergal shared his contempt for the latest blasphemy charge against him:
Another lawsuit in the process. Reason? In every case the same: offense of RELIGIOUS FEELINGS! Can u imagine this nonsense in XXl century? Poland is mentally soooo fuckin’ behind the civilized Europe that we r literally THE last bastion of so called “blasphemy casus”. Even extremely Catholic Ireland removed this paragraph from constitution lately. It WILL happen in Poland at some point …. and yea, I’m willing to be that stepping stone. FUCK religious fundamentalism in every fuckin hole. And frankly, I’m sure I will win this and EVERY other case. Just wait and see
If convicted of “offending religious feelings,” Nergal could be subject to a fine and face restricted freedoms for up to two years. Nergal has reportedly pled “not guilty” to the charge.