A court in the western town of Ostrow Wielkopolski has discontinued a case against former MEP Witold Tomczak who was accused of insulting policemen by calling them the Polish equivalent of “jerks”.

The case, which lasted eleven years and included over 40 hearings, was discontinued due to prescription (meaning the case ‘timed-out’).

At the end of June 1999, Tomczak was arrested after he drove his car the wrong direction up a one-way street. When policemen tried to stop him he offended them calling palanty (jerks, halfwits).

Crucial to the case was whether “palant” was a term of abuse.

 The accused did not appear any of the many hearings, however.

“Due to his absence, the absence of witnesses and the lack of conclusions from lawyers, the court had no chance but to absolve the case,” said Judge Renata Szenfeld.

The MEP’s lawyer, however, maintains that his client and not the policemen are the victims in the case.

“I believe that Witold Tomczak will be morally absolved and will return to politics,” said Attorney Janus Wojciechowski, adding that his client's trial cost the State Treasury at least 100,000 zloty (25,500 euro).

The prosecutor, in turn, called the lack of a verdict “a failure of the justice system.”

Witold Tomczak has had a run in with the law before.  In 2000, the MEP destroyed a sculpture of Pope John Paul II in Warsaw Zacheta art gallery, which he felt was offensive. (mg/pg)

Source: PAP