Rafał Gaweł

Rafał Gaweł is the founder of the Centre for Monitoring Racist and Xenophobic Behaviour (Polish: Ośrodek Monitorowania Zachowań Rasistowskich i Ksenofobicznych OMZRiK), a Polish anti-racism monitoring group. In 2019 Polish authorities sentenced him to a two-year prison term, however Gaweł was awarded temporary political asylum on 30 September 2020 in Norway. The asylum was granted for three reasons: the lack of the possibility of a fair trial, the lack of Polish authorities' control of extreme-right militias, and the criminal case against him appearing to constitute political persecution by Polish authorities.[1][2][3] It is the first time that a Polish person has been granted political asylum since the fall of Communism in the country.[4]

Theatre and OMZRiK

Gaweł is known in Białystok, a city in Poland near the border with Belarus, as the director of the ThreeRivers Theatre (Polish: Teatr TrzyRzecze) and as the founder[2] and head of the Centre for Monitoring Racist and Xenophobic Behaviour (Polish: Ośrodek Monitorowania Zachowań Rasistowskich i Ksenofobicznych OMZRiK), a Polish anti-racism monitoring group.[5]

OMZRiK monitored crimes involving racist motives and submitted legal cases against them. In 2017, OMZRiK lodged 45 legal cases of this sort. Gaweł stated that the Prosecutor's office was unhappy to receive the complaints.[2]

One of OMZRiK's cases that achieved major media interest was related to a prosecutor, Dawid Roszkowski, who refused to carry out prosecutions for use of the swastika on the grounds of its use in Hinduism. Roszkowski's superior was fired. Roszkowski was later promoted to head of the South Białystok Prosecutor's Office.[2]

Criminal case

In 2017, Gaweł and two colleagues were accused of major financial fraud in relation to ThreeThings and OMZRiK,[5] with claims that he had frauded a bank of 200,000zł and the Stefan Batory Foundation of 100,000zł. Gaweł pleaded not guilty. The Stefan Batory Foundation denied the claim that it had been frauded.[1]

In January 2019, Gaweł was sentenced to two years' prison,[6] after having appealed an initial sentence of four years.[1]

Political asylum

On 7 January 2019, Gaweł and his family fled for his safety to Norway, without a passport,[1] and with help from "a diplomatic contact".[7] He and his family were awarded political asylum on 30 September 2020 in Norway for three reasons: he had had an unfair trial and was unlikely to obtain a fair trial; Polish authorities did not prevent the activities of right-wing militias; and the criminal case against him appeared to a case of political persecution by Polish authorities.[2][1] Gaweł's lawyer, Łukasz Niedzielski, described Gaweł's situation as political persecution disguised as a criminal case.[1]

Gaweł's case is a rare case of asylum granted in Europe to a European Union (EU) citizen. One Pole was granted asylum in Norway in 2019, out of 18 EU citizens granted asylum in Norway during 2010–2019.[3]

Gaweł was given an initial refugee status for one year, which is renewable and convertible to permanent residency.[7]

References
  1. Ziemska, Ursula (2020-10-09). "Rafał Gaweł otrzymał azyl polityczny w Norwegii. Pierwszy taki przypadek od czasów PRL" [Rafał Gaweł given political asylum in Norway. The first such case since the Polish People's Republic]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  2. "Rafał Gaweł was granted political asylum in Norway". Polish News. 2020-10-08. Archived from the original on 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  3. Peltier, Elian; Pronczuk, Monika; Libell, Henrik Pryser (2020-10-18). "After Fleeing Poland, an Antiracism Activist Finds Refuge in Norway". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-10-18. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  4. "Norway grants asylum to man claiming persecution by Polish government". the Guardian. AP. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  5. "Rafał Gaweł of the ThreeThings theatre accused of a gigantic fraud. Full details of the charges" [Rafał Gaweł z Teatru TrzyRzecze oskarżony o gigantyczne malwersacje. Pełna treść zarzutów]. Polska Times (in Polish). 2017-02-07. Archived from the original on 2020-10-10. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  6. "Wanted anti-racism activist applied for asylum in Norway". Poland In. 2019-04-18. Archived from the original on 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  7. "Norwegia: założyciel Ośrodka Monitorowania Zachowań Rasistowskich z azylem politycznym" [Norway: founder of the Centre for Monitoring Racist Behaviour given political asylum]. Onet.pl (in Polish). 2020-10-08. Archived from the original on 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
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