Trial of Mosina blogger comes to an end

The Circuit Court in Poznań, re-hearing the case of Łukasz Kasprowicz, a blogger from Mosina, a town located near Poznań in western Poland, discontinued on 10 January 2013 the criminal proceedings brought against Mr Kasprowicz (case no. IV Ka 1158/12) citing negligible social harm presented by the alleged offence.

The blogger’s online criticism against the Mayor of Mosina Zofia Springer resulted in his criminal conviction for defamation under article 212(2) of the Criminal Code. Mr Kasprowicz was acquitted on appeal. Following the Mayor’s cassation complaint, the case was heard by the Supreme Court.

In October 2012, the Supreme Court dismissed a majority of the complaint’s counts, rejecting the argument raised by the private accuser that the Circuit Court had erred in law. However, referring to one count of the accusation, namely the blogger’s statement that Ms Springer “forces Mosina officials to break the law or face the consequences”, the Supreme Court decided to reverse the appellate court’s ruling and remand the case for reconsideration. The Supreme Court noted that the fact that the alleged offence had been committed online may not be the sole basis for discontinuation of the case. The Supreme Court opposed the line of argument presented by the Circuit Court which concluded that online users “can do more” because they were not required to use the language of the printed press (for more information about the SC judgment, use this link).

On 10 January the Circuit Court in Poznań re-heard the case and once again discontinued the proceedings on the grounds of the negligible social harm presented by the alleged offence. The reasons for the judgment are yet to be made public.