WARSAW, Poland -- A court in Warsaw on Tuesday opened proceedings in a defamation case brought by Poland’s most powerful politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, against a journalist who publicly alleges the leader is gay.
Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling right-wing Law and Justice party, was not present in the capital city's District Court, but was represented by his lawyers.
He is demanding an apology and a retraction from journalist and YouTuber Jan Pinski, who made the allegations on his channel last year. He claimed that hiding his sexuality leaves Kaczynski open to blackmail.
Rumors that Kaczynski, a 73-year-old bachelor, is homosexual, have been circulating for years. They especially come in reaction to his and the government’s conservative and hostile approach to the LGBTQ community, and refusal to allow same-sex marriage in Poland.
Kaczynski is also demanding that Pinski pay 10,000 zlotys ($2,000) to a hospice.
