Three pastors testify tomorrow at Pastor Chojecki’s trial!
At noon tomorrow, another hearing will be held in the trial of Pastor Paweł Chojecki, who is on trial for the words he spoke during his sermons and programs on Against the Tide TV. Three pastors called as witnesses in the case will testify:
- pastor Henryk Skrzypkowski, a member of the Presbytery of the Baptist Church Council, and the pastor of the Baptist church in Chełm,
- pastor Ireneusz Dawidowicz of the Baptist church in Bialystok, psychologist, co-founder and vice-president of the Association “Toward Good Hope”
- former priest Jerzy, now pastor of a home church.
The hearing is public and will be held before the Court of Appeals in Lublin. Journalists and all interested parties are invited to come to the courtroom in person.
Feel invited:
April 13, 12:00 pm
Court of Appeals in Lublin
II Criminal Division
1 Obrońców Pokoju St.
20-950 Lublin
The pastor of the New Covenant Church in Lublin, Pawel Chojecki, is on trial solely for his words – a few sentences from sermons and other programs aired on the web TV he runs, which were disliked by a group of haters and the Law and Justice prosecution. The pastor was charged with insulting the religious feelings of Catholics, insulting Catholic objects of religious reverence, praising the initiation of a forward war against communist North Korea, and insulting the Polish Nation and the President of Poland.
The court of first instance sentenced Pastor Chojecki to eight months of restriction of liberty in the form of community service. In addition, the pastor is to pay for the costs of the proceedings in the amount of nearly PLN 21,000. Four appeals have been filed to the verdict. In Pastor Chojecki’s defense, the law firm of legal counsel Adam Wroblewski, the law firm of attorney Andrzej Sawicki and the law firm of attorney Andrzej Turczyn filed an appeal. An appeal was also filed by prosecutor Katarzyna Urban, demanding a prison sentence. If the Court of Appeals in Lublin convicts the pastor, there is no longer any possibility of appeal in Poland.
Referring to the accusations of insulting the religious feelings of Catholics, Pastor Chojecki points out that as a Protestant he criticizes the dogmas of the Catholic Church, pointing out that they are incompatible with the Bible. As for the accusations of insulting Catholic objects of religious worship, these allegations are also about words – there was no real insulting of objects of Catholic worship. The pastor addressed all the allegations in a statement.
Who really is pastor Paweł Chojecki?
Petition to the US President to stand in defense of the Polish protestants
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
Sign the petition!
SIGN 🔴 A petition to the US President @POTUS in defense of Polish Protestants 🤝 For our freedom and yours 🇺🇸🇵🇱
👉 https://t.co/wBu9mzZJRH pic.twitter.com/vwe0ngXZtS
— Against the Tide (Idź Pod Prąd) TV (@AgainstTideTV) February 14, 2023
AGAINST THE TIDE TV NEWSLETTER – 16.02.2023
Petition to the US President to stand in defense of the Polish protestants
A petition was launched on February 13, 2023, in which Polish Protestants asked the President of the United States, leader of the free world, that during his upcoming visit to Poland, in talks with Polish authorities, to stand for the rights of Polish Protestants to freedom of speech and freedom of religion in Poland. [Read more…]
Join the conference
How to gain power in the state? The sixth conference of the Polish-Ukrainian Bible Institute in Lublin
The sixth conference of the Polish-Ukrainian Bible Institute in Lublin, dedicated to the role of Christians in politics, will be held on February 18. The title of the conference is „How to gain power in the state?”. The event will provide an opportunity to discuss the responsibility of Christians for the politics of their state, and to consider whether Christians should seek to seize power. Also on the agenda are such issues as the chances of Christians in Poland to play an important role in politics. Examples of this are coming to us from brotherly Ukraine. [Read more…]
Pastor Chojecki calls Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Minister Michal Dworczyk as witnesses!
Poland’s prime minister and his minister may be summoned to court as witnesses in a free speech trial. The pastor of the New Covenant Church and editor-in-chief of the Go Against the Tide TV, Pawel Chojecki, has been indicted for words he uses on the Go Go Against the Tide TV, including critical comments against the dogma of the Catholic Church and Polish President Andrzej Duda. Pawel Chojecki has also frequently criticized the Law and Justice government.
In the pastor’s trial, people associated with the National Media are acting as auxiliary witnesses. Meanwhile, correspondence between Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his minister, Michał Dworczyk, who organized subsidies for nationalist circles associated with the Independence March and Robert Bąkiewicz, was recently revealed. In return, the nationalist circles pledged to attack opponents of the PiS government.
The emails date from the time just before the second round of the presidential election. They established the terms of a fund that later gave millions of zlotys in grants to nationalist organizations. At the time, Michal Dworczyk was said to have written, among other things:
“Matthew, as you know, I am in favor of cooperation with the National Movement, but at the moment I think these proposals are redundant. The Nationalists are already doing their thing (statements on social media and traditional media), moreover, there will be a demonstration at City Hall on Wednesday.”
In the email, Minister Dworczyk was said to have endorsed the proposal of “the deputy director of the Institute run by Żaryn” and “the promise of 5 million for the Patriotic Fund.”
And indeed six months after that exchange of correspondence, the Patriotic Fund was created. And that with a budget of 30 million zlotys. Organizations affiliated with Robert Bąkiewicz received about 3 million zlotys in 2021 and more grants the following year.
The March of Independence Association in 2021 also received more than PLN 190,000 from the National Freedom Institute for the project “National Media/Warsaw – a civic local portal.”
Interestingly, the man who organized the group reporting Pastor Chojecki to the prosecutor’s office is a journalist for the National Media. Is this a coincidence? Or part of the Nationalists’ cooperation with the Law and Justice government? This matter should be clarified by the court.
Pastor Pawel Chojecki commented on the situation as follows:
“It is a political scandal that the prime minister with his advisor, Mr. Michał Dworczyk, for heavy millions, is preparing an environment for himself for a political fight – with taxpayer money he is building himself a party base to fight another party. And there is a high probability that we, by criticizing Law and Justice since 2017, are in the area of interest of the Polish government, which wants to punish us in some way for having the courage to criticize the government.”
Who really is pastor Paweł Chojecki?
A petition to the US president in defense of Polish Protestants has been launched
A petition was launched on February 13, 2023, in which Polish Protestants asked the President of the United States, leader of the free world, that during his upcoming visit to Poland, in talks with Polish authorities, to stand for the rights of Polish Protestants to freedom of speech and freedom of religion in Poland.
The petition was created by Christians from the New Covenant Church in Lublin, who have experienced many manifestations of discrimination and persecution, including those from state institutions.
The petition can be signed at againstthetide.tv
The authors of the petition address the US President with these words, among others: “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 long-standing 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 church’s founder and pastor, Pawel Chojecki, for criticizing Catholic dogma and President Andrzej Duda”.
The pastor of the New Covenant Church in Lublin, Pawel Chojecki, explains his reasons for addressing the President of the United States: “If the alliance with Poland is to be lasting then the same values must be respected in Poland that are respected in the US, namely freedom understood as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Without this there will be no lasting alliance!”
SIGN 🔴 A petition to the US President @POTUS in defense of Polish Protestants 🤝 For our freedom and yours 🇺🇸🇵🇱
👉 https://t.co/wBu9mzZJRH pic.twitter.com/vwe0ngXZtS
— Against the Tide (Idź Pod Prąd) TV (@AgainstTideTV) February 14, 2023
AGAINST THE TIDE TV NEWSLETTER – 13.02.2023
“Freedom of speech is for me…” – a campaign has been launched!
There is no free media without freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is the basis of social functioning. Unfortunately, in our country it is restricted in many cases. Therefore, we have launched a campaign encouraging Poles to record their definitions of freedom of speech. Check out how to join! [Read more…]
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AGAINST THE TIDE TV NEWSLETTER – 03.02.2023
Featured
Another appeal hearing in the trial of Pastor Pawel Chojecki
An appeal hearing was held on January 31 in the trial of Pastor Pawel Chojecki, editor-in-chief of Go Against the Tide TVand pastor of the New Covenant Church in Lublin. The pastor is being tried for his words. Several sentences he said in his sermons and other programs aired on our television did not please a group of hecklers and the Law and Justice party prosecution. The Court of Appeals decided at its January session to adjourn the case until April 13.
Live from the court is available on our YouTube channel. [Read more…]
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You could also get to know our editorial staff from behind the scenes and see those you don’t see on a daily basis, as well as what happens outside of the recordings. [More…]
We invite you to sum up these seven years of IPP TV! [Read more…]
Freedom Concert – Solidarity with Pastor Chojecki
On Sunday, January 29, a unique event took place at the headquarters of Go Against the Tide TV! Freedom Concert – Solidarity with Pastor Chojecki, which featured Jurek and Gosia Dajukowie & Friends, Pastor Abraham Diamonde and the team of the New Covenant Church in Lublin.
We broadcast the event live for you! LIVE from the Freedom Concert is available on our YouTube channel. [More…]
Everything that we have achieved so far has been possible thanks to God’s blessing, thanks to the generosity and support of our viewers, and thanks to the hard work of a talented and well-coordinated team.
We are not paid by any means by the government, political parties, corporations, or any other groups and therefore, we can work completely independently and achieve such success in reaching Poles with the truth.
Support Against the Tide TV
“Freedom of speech is for me…” – a campaign has been launched!
There is no free media without freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is the basis of social functioning. Unfortunately, in our country it is restricted in many cases. Therefore, we have launched a campaign encouraging Poles to record their definitions of freedom of speech. Check out how to join! [Read more ]
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Youth from the Your Movement Foundation organized “Live with the Pastor” on the topic of freedom of speech. During the program, our viewers were able to ask Pastor Pawel Chojecki questions live.
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We are planning more episodes of “Live with the Pastor” in the near future. [Read more…]
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[Read more…]
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We focused on God’s message and tried to examine, basing on the Bible, what would He say to the Polish people today, what message would He deliver?