Polish court orders official to apologize to judges for calling them ‘thieves’

A Polish court has convicted a pro-government official for violating the good name of the country’s judges by calling them “ordinary thieves”.
The court has ordered the convicted prosecutor, Stanislaw Piotrowicz, to publicly apologize to the judges. He also has to pay a fine of around $5,000.
The court’s decision comes at a time when Poland’s government is taking steps to reform the judiciary. Recently, the country approved the controversial law, which allows judges to be fired if they question the government’s judicial reforms.
The bill was pushed despite warnings by the European Union that the regulation is incompatible with EU treaties, which means that Poland could exit the EU due to non-compliance.
Piotrowicz is currently a member of the top constitutional court. In 2918, he expressed his support for the government appointments to a top judicial body, amid widespread protests against it.
He alleged that some judges did not meet standards and needed to be replaced, after which the head of the supreme court and a judge sued him for violation of their personal rights.
Piotrowicz can appeal the verdict.