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Polish court orders Neo-Nazi group to be disbanded

07.08.2019 16:30
A Polish court on Wednesday ruled that an organisation whose members took part in a "Hitler birthday party" should be disbanded, state news agency PAP has reported.
Judge Bożena Klimaszewska.
Judge Bożena Klimaszewska.Photo: PAP/Andrzej Grygiel

In January 2018, footage aired by a Polish private television broadcaster showed what appeared to be a group of neo-Nazis meeting in a forest.

Private broadcaster TVN said at the time that the footage was the result of its investigation into nationalist groups in Poland and included recordings of the Pride and Modernity organization’s celebrations of Adolf Hitler’s birth anniversary in May 2017.

The revelations caused outrage and condemnation in Poland, a country that suffered massive damage after being invaded by Nazi Germany in World War II.

The alleged celebrations filmed by TVN featured Nazi German flags, an altar to the Nazi German leader, and the “Sieg Heil” Hitler salute.

Both the ruling conservatives and the Polish opposition called for the Pride and Modernity organisation to be delegalised.

Prosecutors in January 2018 launched a probe into the group.

At least three people suspected of being involved in the "Hitler birthday party" have been detained and charged with propagating fascism, which is illegal in Poland and carries a penalty of up to two years in jail.

(jh/pk)

Source: PAP