Polish cops charge farmer over Putin appeal
Polish authorities have charged a farmer with hate speech after he fitted his tractor with a Soviet flag and a message appealing to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a protest against cheap Ukrainian grain imports.
More than 100 tractors blocked a road near the village of Gorzyczki on Tuesday, the Wyborcza news outlet reported. The demonstrators demanded the closure of the Polish-Ukrainian border, a ban on importing agricultural products that do not meet EU standards, such as cheap Ukrainian grain, and the rejection of the bloc’s Green Deal, arguing that the regulations proposed in the bill would ruin European agriculture.
The farmers threatened to organize an even larger protest in Warsaw and block parliamentary buildings if their demands are not heard.
One tractor drew particular attention from the media and, subsequently, the police. A farmer adorned his vehicle with a USSR flag and a placard reading: “Putin, deal with Ukraine, Brussels and our rulers.”
Podkarpacie protestuje!🇵🇱 Cała Polska protestuje! 🇵🇱To już kolejny dzień rolniczych protestów, do których przyłączają się inne grupy. To tak naprawdę protest, w którym powinni iść wszyscy Polacy, bo bezpieczeństwo żywnościowe to sprawa nas WSZYSTKICH! Apeluje o wyrozumiałość i… pic.twitter.com/7KZVUYxdUc
— Karolina Pikuła (@karolina_piku) February 20, 2024
After photos of the tractor started circulating in the media, Polish police issued a statement on X advising that “breaking the law and inciting hatred is not allowed.” They also stated that anyone who “commits an act out of hatred towards another human being will be held criminally liable,” and that the farmer in question was being charged under Poland’s hate speech laws.
Some time later, the head of the Polish Ministry of the Interior, Marcin Kierwinski, wrote on X that the “scandalous banner” had been immediately removed and secured by Polish law enforcement officers. He confirmed that the police and the prosecutor’s office were taking action against the protester.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky reacted to Tuesday’s farmer protests in Poland, claiming they represented an “outright mockery” of Ukrainian soldiers, and lamenting the “erosion of solidarity” they cause. They were “not about grain, but rather politics,” he insisted.
The highly-subsidized EU agriculture market was disrupted in 2022, after Brussels lifted tariffs and quotas for Ukrainian products in a bid to support Kiev’s war effort. The decision has since caused mass protests across Eastern Europe, as farmers have argued that they can’t compete with cheap Ukrainian agricultural imports that are not subject to EU standards and regulations.
