Poland’s ruling Law & Justice party has come under fire over the death of an opposition MP’s 15-year-old son, who killed himself after a report by a state-run radio station led to his identification as the victim of a paedophile.
The Polish parliament, the Sejm, stood for a minute’s silence on Tuesday during the funeral of Mikolaj Filiks. His mother, Magdalena Filiks, an MP from Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform, said last week that he had died in February.
The teenager took his life weeks after a report on a convicted paedophile by Radio Szczecin, part of the state-run broadcaster Polskie Radio network, revealed details about the victims that allowed Filiks to be easily publicly identified.
In its report in December, the radio disclosed the minors’ ages and that one was the child of a local MP. It added that the convicted man – whose 2021 trial had been held in private to protect his victims – was a former Civic Platform member and election candidate, and an LGBT activist.
The story, widely relayed by other state media, has caused uproar in Poland, with opposition supporters alleging that the national-conservative Law & Justice (PiS) party orchestrated it for political gain so is at least partly responsible for the death.
PiS, which faces a tight election later this year, controls Poland’s media tightly and has campaigned against LGBT rights. Its supporters, in turn, have suggested the original abuse conviction was deliberately covered up by Civic Platform.
Civic Platform’s leader, Donald Tusk, the former Polish prime minister and European Council president, tweeted his promise to “hold PiS to account for every villainy, for all human harm and tragedies they have caused while in power”.
Radosław Sikorski, a Polish MEP and former cabinet minister, said the case showed the extent of cooperation between prosecutors and the PiS-run media, adding such operations were “planned … and routinely used to destroy political competitors”.
Szymon Hołownia, the leader of the opposition party Poland 2050, said there were “no words today that could bring solace”. He added: “However, there will come – let no one doubt it – a time of reckoning for those whose words bring death.”
The journalist concerned, Tomasz Duklanowski, has reportedly said he broadcast the story to show it “wasn’t just the Catholic church” that covered up child abuse.
PiS began moving to take direct control of Poland’s state-owned media soon after its 2015 election victory and multiple national and international reports have since concluded state TV and radio amount to mouthpieces for government propaganda.
The government, which is embroiled in a long-running row with the EU over rule of law issues including media freedom, says its policy is a proportionate response to what it claims is a media environment skewed in favour of its liberal opponents.
Government supporters have accused the opposition of playing up the tragedy. The education minister, Przemysław Czarnek, told state television TVP that it was “detrimental to society” that the case had not been reported earlier.
“The very people who shout so loudly about the fight against paedophilia are hiding paedophiles in their ranks,” Czarnek said.
Prosecutors are investigating the death and the National Broadcasting Council has launched an inquiry aimed at establishing whether the station broadcast content “enabling the identification of child victims, which grossly endangered their welfare”.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.e
