16 May 2023 | News
A further hearing was held on 15.05.2023, the parties said. Cynthia Harasim recounted how she was treated by the conference organisers. Not only was she not allowed into the conference, she felt insulted by the refusal to recognise her as a journalist (as both defendants indicated that they only let in 'real journalists’), but she was also insulted, being called (and other journalists) 'dogs, Law and Justice functionaries’. This was particularly painful for her, as her status as a journalist had never been questioned (she has worked for many years with various editors), nor had there ever been a situation where she was not allowed into a publicly accessible conference because of her journalistic work and was insulted by the organiser. Cynthia Harasim indicated that she was squeezed by a door (her leg was stuck in the door and she could not pull it out) and hit in the face, with the result that she had to be treated.
Both defendants indicated that from the outset they had divided those working in the media into journalists and ruling party functionaries seconded to the media section and therefore did not allow the latter into their conferences. Both also confirmed that at the moment when the wronged party shouted that her leg hurt, they laughed because they saw it as a provocation on the part of the wronged party.
The court adjourned the proceedings without a date to resolve the need to appoint a medical expert in this case.
Two hearings were held as part of these court proceedings.
29.11.2022, a witness testified who recorded the entire event and then posted it on the KOD platform. The witness confirmed that the Respondent Ms Lempart addressed the journalists who were not allowed into the conference, referring to them as „propaganda officers”. The Witness also pointed out that despite the fact that Cynthia Harasim was crying and screaming that her leg hurt (which was supposed to have been slammed by the door), none of the organisers took any interest in the Claimant’s health.
On the other hand, at the first hearing, which took place on 26.10.2022, a witness – one of the journalists present during the whole incident – gave his testimony. The journalist talked about the scandalous course of the press conference, the selection of journalists and how Marta Lempart and Klementyna Suchanow behaved.
Reminder:
Editor Cyntia Harasim filed, against Marta Lempart and Klementyna Suchanow, a lawsuit alleging violations of the personal rights and personal integrity of Gazeta Polska journalists.
The basis for the lawsuit was an incident during which the editor, Cyntia Harasim, was prevented from fulfilling her professional duties because she, along with other journalists, was not allowed into the conference. During the incident, she suffered a violation of her personal integrity. At the same time, she and other journalists were called, among other things, „dogs” by Ms Klementyna Suchanow – which also violated the journalist’s good name.
Both Ms Cynthia Harasim and the other journalists present from the Polish Television and the Television Trwam were prevented from performing their journalistic tasks, in breach of Articles 43 and 44 of the Press Law.
30 November 2021. The District Court in Warsaw issued a judgment in absentia in this case, ordering activists Marta Lempart and Klementyna Suchanow to apologise to journalist Cyntia Harasim for violating her personal rights. According to the verdict, Marta Lempart and Klementyna Suchanow were obliged to apologise to the journalist Cynthia Harasim. The court also forbade the defendants to take actions violating the journalist’s personal rights, i.e. to reproduce information that she is a 'dog or a 'PIS functionary’, to slander her, to violate her bodily integrity and to prevent her from performing her professional work.
In addition, the court decision obliged Matra Lempart and Klementyna Suchanow to pay compensation to Cyntia Harasim, and to pay PLN 30,000 to the Social Welfare Home in Broniszewice. The defendants were also ordered to reimburse the costs of court proceedings.
The defendants Marta Lempart and Klementyna Suchanow filed an objection to the court judgement, hence the commencement of full court proceedings.
