Behemoth’s Nergal accused of "offending religious feelings" in new blasphemy charge

Behemoth frontman Nergal has been hit with "another lawsuit" in his native Poland.

The musician – real name Adam Darski – is facing a charge of blasphemy after stepping on an image of the Virgin Mary during a Me And That Man photoshoot in 2019, with prosecutor Aleksandra Skrzyniarz stating that he "publicly insulted the object of Christian religious worship".

The full statement regarding the charge (via Super Express, translated from Polish to English) reads: "Adam D. is accused of having on September 25, 2019, acting via the Internet, publicly insulted the object of Christian religious worship in the form of the person of the Mother of God, by placing a photo on the Facebook social network, on its official profile.

"Presenting a damaged picture showing the image of the Mother of God with a shoe-legged figure placed in the place of the indicated figure, which was described by + on the set +, which translated means + on the set +, thus offending the religious feelings of four people. Representatives of Ordo Iuris and the Patriotic Society were informed about Nergal‘s misdemeanor. The Warsaw prosecutor added that during the investigation the victims were interrogated and an expert in the field of religious studies was appointed.

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"The opinion clearly concludes that treading with a shoe on the image of the Mother of God is an offense against religious feelings."

Super Express add that Nergal "did not plead guilty to the alleged offense", with the frontman taking to social media to state: "Another lawsuit in the process. Reason? In every case the same: offense of RELIGIOUS FEELINGS! Can u imagine this nonsense in XXl century? Poland is mentally soooo fuckin’ behind the civilized Europe that we r literally THE last bastion of so called "blasphemy casus". Even extremely Catholic Ireland removed this paragraph from constitution lately. It WILL happen in Poland at some point …. and yea, I’m willing to be that stepping stone. FUCK religious fundamentalism in every fuckin hole. And frankly, I’m sure I will win this and EVERY other case. Just wait and see."

Speaking to Kerrang! in 2019 about why he's always been so outspoken against religion, Nergal explained: "Well, I come from Catholic roots. I was baptised and had Communion, but when I was 16 I just rejected it. My upbringing wasn’t particularly strict or radical, though. It wasn’t like I came from a super-religious household where it was a problem for me and I was made to live a life I didn’t like or wasn’t comfortable with. It was all just so shallow. My rebellion wasn’t against my parents. It was against the church and it came from my observations. It’s just against my nature. When I renounced my religion, there was responsibility to it – I can do whatever I want to do with my life. I’ve always been a thinker, and I’ve always been a guy who likes to express and explore. You should always ask questions, because that’s how you understand and grow."

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