Dear Mr. President,

The United States of America is not only the most powerful country in human history, but first and foremost a beacon and defender of freedom, tolerance and individual rights, which in the first place include freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Poles have been America’s most faithful allies since the days of Pulaski and Kosciuszko and understand freedom and tolerance similarly to Americans. Unfortunately, in recent years things have been going wrong in our homeland. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion is being taken away from many people, especially Polish Protestants. The most glaring example of this is the discrimination in the public space of the New Covenant Church in Lublin and the Go Against the Tide TV, which it runs. The government of Law and Justice even went so far as to launch a campaign in the public media to denigrate the New Covenant Church in Lublin, and the government prosecutor’s office indicted the founder and pastor of that church, Pawel Chojecki, for criticizing Catholic dogma and President Andrzej Duda. The court of first instance convicted the pastor, although he was blatantly deprived of his right to a defense. An appeal hearing is currently pending.

Pastor Pawel Chojecki and the New Covenant Church in Lublin have been harassed by the police and prosecutor’s office for four years now (we have covered manifestations of discrimination against Polish Protestants in the “Report on Persecution and Discrimination against Protestants in Poland on the Example of IPP and KNP” and in accounts of the trial posted on our website idzpodprad.pl). This case is appalling and shows that although Poland declares a commitment to the values of the Free World, the current authorities do not put these declarations into practice.

We, the undersigned, ask the President to stand up for the rights of Polish Protestants for freedom of speech and freedom of religion in Poland in his talks with the Polish authorities.

Our ancestors are known to have fought for the freedom of other nations. They were guided by the motto „For our freedom and yours!”. We ask Mr. President, on your next visit to Poland, to speak up for our freedom.

Sincerely
Free Poles

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