Nergal is not just one to sit there and take being called blasphemous. The Behemoth frontman has been convicted of blasphemy in Poland over a photo of himself from 2019 stepping on an image of the Virgin Mary. According to Notes From Poland, Darski thus far has been ordered to pay a 15,000 złoty (~$4,000) fine and 3,500 złoty (~$942) court case fee.
According to a Polish spokesperson, Nergal "publicly insulted the object of Christian religious worship." Nergal was charged for a similar incident in 2013. Nergal has launched The Ordo Blasfemia fund, which will aid with defense fees for any artist charged in Poland for offending religious feelings.
The GoFundMe page reads:
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.
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.
Nergal also released the below video, explaining himself saying “It’s just another excuse for all sorts of opportunists, pettifoggers, bullies to harass me under the banner of Catholic dogma. But what does the situation tell about the [judicial] system in Poland? Many cases of pedophilia crimes among clergy are being secretly wiped up and the predators hardly ever face the law. And here, an artist is being convicted within a few days for what? Posting a photo on social media? It is absurd. It makes Polish justice look like a fuckin’ joke. And so it is.”
