Polish state TV ordered to apologize for migrants comments

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A court in Poland has found state TV station guilty of insulting city authorities in Gdansk, including its slain mayor, and ordered the news station to publicly apologize and pay $13,000 to a refugee center.

The Warsaw Provincial Court ruled Friday in a case filed in 2016 by Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz against TVP INFO over derogatory material it aired about migrants that also criticized the mayor’s decision to invite migrants to Gdansk. Adamowicz, a critic of Poland’s right-wing government, was killed a year ago by an embittered ex-prisoner, during a fund raiser.

The government-controlled station is to air a prime-time apology and pay a fine to a local refugee center. The verdict is subject to appeal.

Adamowicz argued that the TV material violated his and the city authority’s rights.

The verdict comes at a time when the government is taking steps to put courts under political control.