Behemoth frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski‘s various legal entanglements with Poland’s anti-blasphemy laws have seen him launch a new campaign dubbed ‘Ordo Blasfemia‘. Crowdfunding for that campaign is underway at this GoFundMe. He had the following to say of his vision for the campaign:
“My name is Nergal and I am an artist from Poland. For over a decade I have been confronted with numerous attempts to permanently destroy my career on the basis that I have harmed ‘religious feelings’. It sounds absurd and I can assure you, it is.
- Advertisement -Many Polish artists, including myself, have been dragged into court rooms, at our own significant costs, to defend ourselves against nonsensical blasphemy laws made by tenuous Politicans. Their intent is to censor anyone who does not conform to the archaic religious laws of our country. The time has come for Polish artists to fight back – join us in the Ordo Blasfemia.
Your donation will help fund a sustainable legal challenge to squash the existing and incoming bogus prosecutions. Help us reach the target so we can distribute to other artists facing their own legal challenges.
If you are unable to donate – thank you for your support. Please keep checking back in and sharing updates!”
A further timeline of Nergal‘s legal issues with the Polish courts in regards to the ‘Offending Religious Feelings’ law in place in the country can be found here. The name of the organization itself seems to be a jab at the ultra-conservative legal group Ordo luris, who in part helped bring Nergal‘s latest charges against him.
If you’ve missed the news, Nergal was recently found guilty of ‘Offending Religious Feelings’ for sharing a photo of a person stepping on a painting of the Virgin Mary on his Facebook back in 2019. That verdict was handed down earlier this month with Darski ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 zloty with associated legal fees of 3,500 zloty, which roughly equates to about $4980 USD.
He has however refused to plead guilty and contested the charge, which will now see the case proceed to trial. Nergal has faced several similar charges over the years, including one for ripping up a bible onstage and was acquitted. Since then he has been in court for a controversial merch design which was alleged to have insulted Poland’s coat of arms. He is also involved in another case for showing off a dildo with a sculpture of Jesus Christ attached to it in several social media posts. The statue in question was gifted to him by Tom Gabriel of Celtic Frost/Triptykon, etc. fame.
Nergal is seeking £20,000 for his campaign and issued the below trailer on the matter, while offering further information on his vision and intent for it. In it he confirms that funds from the GoFundMe will be used for both his own and others’ legal battles with the Polish courts who have also run afoul of the anti-blasphemy laws.
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