Poland’s government has approved plans to add sexual orientation, gender, age and disability to the categories covered by Poland’s hate crime laws.
“The new regulations aim to more fully implement the constitutional prohibition of discrimination and to meet international recommendations on standards of protection against hate speech and hate crimes,” wrote the Polish justice ministry, which prepared the new legislation.
The justice ministry notes that, under the proposed legislation, cases of public insult motivated by bias against the protected groups or of incitement to hatred against those groups can be punishable by up to three years in prison. Cases of violence and unlawful threats can carry up to a five-year jail term.
Adding sexual orientation and gender to Poland’s hate crime laws was one of the elements of the coalition agreement that brought a new, more liberal government to power late last year, ending eight years of rule by the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Last month, Poland’s government presented a bill to introduce legally recognised partnerships for same-sex couples.
Poland needs the EU to fend off Russia's expansionism, and protecting human rights is a key part of this.
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