Attack on the head office of an LGBT organization on Independence Day

Alert DateNovember 11, 2012 Country: Poland Address: Warszawa General Type: Hate crime Racism and discrimination phenomena: Homophobia
Groups affected / Interested in: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Key socio-economic/institutional areas: Daily life
Victims Data
Victims Nationality/Ethnic Origin N/A
Victims Gender N/A
Victims Age N/A
Victims Number N/A
Fatalities - deaths N/A
Perpetrators Data
Perpetrators Nationality/Ethnic Origin N/A
Perpetrator Gender N/A
Perpetrator Age N/A
Perpetrators Number N/A
Extremist/Organised Group Violence No

November 11th is a national holiday in Poland celebrated as Independence Day. On this day, various types of parades, demonstrations and marches are organized. For several years, riots have taken place during these events, mainly between groups referred to as extreme right-wing and radical left-wing. During this year's Independence March there was an attack on the office of an organization defending the rights of gays and lesbians – the Lambda Warsaw Association. Three windows were smashed, and stones and bottles were thrown inside. There were several people receiving training inside the association at that time, thankfully no one was hurt. Police officers present on the street outside the Lambda office were not able to prevent all the aggressive behavior. The incident was reported to the police as a hate-motivated one. It should be noted, however, that the currently binding penal code specifies as hate crimes only those committed on the grounds of race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or atheism.

Source:

Lambda Warszawa, 12.11.2012, Atak na siedzibę Lamby Warszawa (Attack on the office of Lambda Warszawa), http://www.lambdawarszawa.org/182-atak-na-siedzibe-lambdy-warszawa, Accessed on 04.12.2012