Farmer Plows Fresh Asphalt, Faces Jail Time; Petition Demands Release From Custody

A farmer's decision to plow fresh asphalt on a road in Gliwice, Poland, has landed him in jail and ignited a public debate over the proportionality of the legal response. The 60-year-old farmer, identified as Józef M., faces charges of property destruction of significant value, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. His arrest on August 9th and subsequent three-month pre-trial detention, ordered by the Gliwice District Court, has drawn widespread criticism.

The farmer claims the road was built on his land, a assertion contested by prosecutors who estimate the damage at approximately 400,000 Polish zloty (around $100,000 USD). Despite his confession to plowing the asphalt, the severity of the pre-trial detention has prompted an outcry. Many view the court's decision to detain him, citing the potential for a harsh sentence and the risk of flight, as excessively punitive.

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The circumstances of this case remain unclear. Conflicting information is emerging in public discourse regarding both the legal status of the land and its actual possession before the road was built. In this situation, the application of the most severe precautionary measure, namely pre-trial detention, against the farmer is particularly disturbing.

In response to the farmer's plight, a petition titled "Free the Farmer" has been launched, urging the Prosecutor General to secure his release pending the trial. The petition was drafted by Janusz Wojciechowski, a former EU Commissioner for Agriculture and ex-president of Poland's Supreme Audit Office. Wojciechowski argues that the circumstances of the case, particularly regarding land ownership and possession, remain unclear and that pre-trial detention is an overly severe measure.

Wojciechowski's petition calls for the Prosecutor General to oversee the Gliwice proceedings, facilitate the farmer's release, and investigate whether the farmer was indeed the rightful possessor of the land before the road was constructed. He suggests the farmer's actions might fall under the legal concept of "permissible self-help" in civil law, which allows individuals to restore their possession without resorting to violence. The case highlights a tension between property rights, agricultural land use, and the application of criminal law in Poland.

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In my public statements, I have pointed out that for the legal assessment of the farmer's conduct, the fundamental...