Writers, actors and filmmakers call on Polish government to stop "targeting sexual minorities" - Richard B. Levine / NEWSCOM / SIPA

“Homophobic attacks are on the rise in Poland because they are tolerated by the ruling party which has made sexual minorities its scapegoat. »: This Monday, the Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, the Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, the Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel Prize winner for literature co-signed an open letter accusing the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party in power in Poland of tolerating homophobia. The open letter, which was published in particular by the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and the French daily Le Monde , was also signed by American writers Paul Auster, South African JM Coetzee, British Ian McEwan, Franco-Moroccan author Leila Slimani, and actors Ed Harris and James Norton.

Arrest of Margot, activist for the homosexual cause: a "political prisoner"

The text refers to the protest demonstration on August 7 in Warsaw against the arrest of an activist for the cause of homosexuals known as Margot. Dozens of participants in this mobilization were arrested during clashes with the police. According to the signatories, Margot is a "political prisoner" because she is accused of damaging a van displaying homophobic slogans and being part of "a generously funded hate campaign".

Sexual minorities have become the "target" of the Polish government

The signatories call on the Polish government to stop "targeting sexual minorities, supporting organizations that spread homophobia and holding accountable those responsible for the violent and illegal arrests of August 7, 2020".

Gay rights have become a hot topic in Poland under the Conservative government campaigning against what it calls “LGBT ideology”. Since the PiS came to power, several regions in Poland have proclaimed themselves “LGTB ideology-free zones”, in reaction against the policy of defending gay rights of the mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, member of the opposition party Platform civic.

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  • Homophobia
  • Poland
  • Culture