Wojciech Olszański sentenced for inciting hatred against Jewish people

The Gdańsk Court of Appeal has issued a final verdict against Wojciech Olszański, a right-wing streamer known as ‘Jaszczur’, for publicly inciting hatred against Jewish people. The conviction stems from a speech delivered during a gathering in Grudziądz on August 13, 2022.

The court found that Olszański attributed negative traits and hostile intentions to Jewish people, characterizing them as enemies of Poland who deserved death. The presiding judge, Rafał Ryś, emphasized that while nationalist views are not criminalized under Polish law, the methods and language used by Olszański crossed the legal boundary into hate speech.

Olszański was sentenced to 18 months of community service, consisting of 20 hours of unpaid social work per month. He is also required to publish the verdict in the Public Information Bulletin for three months. The appellate court mitigated the original sentence by removing charges related to his comments about Ukrainians, ruling that those specific statements did not violate the law.