Michnik defends himself in the court - tvn.24.pl

tvn24.pl wrote on Tuesday (8.12.2009) on the proceedings of the trial against about a dozen of diplomats and journalists, accused of defamation by Jan Kobylański, former Honorary Consul to Uruguay. The subtitle reads: “Adam Michnik does not revoke his statement published in „Gazeta Wyborcza about Jan Kobylański. – There is no doubt that this gentleman disclosed a Jewish family [to the Nazis – added by S.S.]. And the anti-Semitic language of his group is close to the Nazi one. – he said in front of the Judge.”


The plaintiff wants each one of the defendants to pay 100 thousand PLN to charity organization. Kobylański charged Michnik over articles published in Gazeta Wyborcza revealing Kobylański’s collaboration with Nazis, during the II World War.

Michnik used as an example the quotes from USOPAŁ declaration of the Former Consul Nazi sentiment, (USOPAŁ – Unia Stowarzyszeń i Organizacji Polskich w Ameryce Łacińskiej – The Union of Polish Associations and Organizations in Latin America, Kobylański is its CEO). For example, the Union called Władysław Bartoszewski, Righteous among Nations, Foreign Minister and Auschwitz prisoner, by names like
“a shabbesgoy”, “a jew”, “a traitor”, or an “anti-Pole”. Władysław Bartoszewski, during his term as Foreign-Minister, fired Kobylański from the office of Honorary Consul to Uruguay for his anti-Semitic comments.

Michnik also reminded the Court that the opinion on Kobylański given by the Committee for Prosecuting Crimes against the Polish Nation, finds him guilty of reporting a Jewish family to Gestapo.

Kobylański sued not only “Gazeta Wyborcza” “Rzeczpospolita”, „Newsweek”, „Polityka” but also Radek Sikorski, Polish Foreign Minister. The documentation of the articles, calling him e.g. „a notorious anti-Semite” has 100 pages.


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