Adam “Nergal” Darski, vocalist and guitarist of Polish blackened death metallers Behemoth, is once again due in court. It’s the latest development in an ongoing case involving Darski that dates back to an incident that took place back in 2019.
The charge in question was ‘offending religious feelings’ and it was leveled against him by a pair of ultra-conservative and religiously minded groups and organizations. The incident in question stems from a picture of a foot stepping on a painting of the Virgin Mary Nergal posted on his social media back in September of 2019.
While an initial ruling in 2021 previously found him guilty of that anti-blasphemy charge back in early 2021, Darski would go on to contest the charges. The case was eventually dismissed in September of 2021, after the prosecutor failed to call upon any witnesses.
Notesfrompoland.com now report that ultra-conservative Polish Catholic legal organization Ordo Iuris went on to appeal that dismissal in December of 2021, with the court approving that the motion to revive the case and let it proceed to trial.
However, an initial hearing in January of this year saw a judge hesitant to let the case proceed after a similar anti-blasphemy charge against Polish pop star Doda was found to be in violation of her human rights by the European Court of Human Rights.
However, those doubts were set aside by the court earlier this week. The judge was apparently swayed to have Darski take part in an upcoming May 29th hearing to establish if the charges against him have merit and should proceed or should be dismissed on the potential grounds of violating his human rights.
Darski has a long legal history of clashes with religious authorities in his native Poland, with past incidents including tearing up bibles, allegedly insulting the Polish coat of arms, and more.
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