Darski was ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 złoty (approximately $4,000) and court costs of almost 3,500 zloty (approximately $942). However, since Darski has contested the judgement, the case will now go to trial.

 

After Darski shared the image on his social media in September 2019, an ultraconservative legal group, Ordo Iuris, and an organization called the Patriotic Society (Towarzystwo Patriotyczne) notified prosecutors that Darski had "offended the religious feelings of four people," including a local politician from Poland’s conservative ruling coalition.

 

"In the course of proceedings, the aggrieved parties were questioned and they clearly stated that their religious feelings were offended," said the spokeswoman for Warsaw district prosecutor's office, Aleksandra Skrzyniarz.

 

Prosecutors also consulted an expert in religious studies, whose "opinion clearly concludes that treading with a shoe on the image of the Mother of God is an offence against religious feelings," Skrzyniarz added.

 

Article 196 of Poland's penal code says that "Whoever offends the religious feelings of other persons by publicly insulting an object of religious worship, or a place designated for public religious ceremonies, is liable to pay a fine, have his or her liberty limited, or be deprived of his or her liberty for a period of up to two years."

 

This is not the first time Nergal has encountered legal problems in Poland. In 2011, he was acquitted on charges he insulted religious sentiment when he called the Catholic Church "the most murderous cult on the planet" during the band's September 2007 performance in Gdynia and tore up a copy of the Bible, calling it "a book of lies."