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Polish defamation court rulings against media

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2026-09-20 19:47 UTC → 2026-09-24 04:41 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Recent legal developments in Poland have seen courts issue rulings against media entities and journalists regarding defamation. In one instance, journalist Cezary Gmyz was court-ordered to issue a public apology to Ringier Axel Springer Polska (RASP). The ruling followed a lawsuit concerning Gmyz’s 2017 and 2018 publications, which the court found contained false information and terminology referencing Third Reich ideology. Separately, the Gdańsk Court of Appeal issued a final verdict requiring Gazeta Wyborcza and its publisher, Agora, to apologize to the family of the late priest Henryk Jankowski and pay symbolic damages. The court determined that a 2018 report accusing Jankowski of sexual violence lacked journalistic due diligence and relied on unreliable witnesses. In a related development, the Gdańsk Court of Appeal ruled that the publisher of ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ must apologize and remove specific sections from a 2018 report published in the supplement ‘Duży Format’ by author Bożena Aksamit. The report had alleged instances of pedophilia involving the former Solidarity chaplain. The court found that certain claims, specifically those regarding a 16-year-old girl’s suicide and an alleged pregnancy, could not be confirmed. The legal dispute was initiated by the siblings of the deceased priest, who claimed the publication violated their personal rights and the memory of their brother. Legal counsel for the publisher, Tomasz Ejtminowicz, has announced intentions to file a cassation appeal and a motion to stay the execution of the verdict.

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