Pole Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison for Burning Effigy of Jew

A Polish court has set a 10-month prison sentence for a man who burned the effigy of an Orthodox Jew at an anti-migrant protest last year.

Judge Marek Gorny said the man, Piotr Rybak, fomented hatred and committed an act of great social harm. Rybak burned the symbol at an anti-migrant rally organized by a far-right group in Wroclaw, in western Poland, in November 2015.

The sentence was more severe than the 10 months of social work recommended by prosecutors. They had argued that Rybak’s act evoked the burning of Jews during the Holocaust and should be understood as a threat of annihilation.

Rybak denounced the verdict and vowed to appeal, saying “it’s a disgrace that a Polish judge issued a judgment against a Polish patriot.”