LGBT activist jailed for two months in Poland, protests ensue

Protests ensued in Warsaw on Friday as Polish police tried to arrest a gay rights activist after a court ordered the campaigner held for two months preventive detention.

The activist, who was referred to officially in court as Michal Sz, but who identifies as a woman with the name Margo, is suspected of causing criminal damage to a van carrying homophobic slogans in Warsaw in June. The activist is also accused of pushing a volunteer from the Pro-Right to Life Foundation which owned the van.

Margo was detained at the offices of Campaign Against Homophobia but dozens of protesters then blocked the police car, prompting a stand-off before officers cleared the way to allow it to pass.

The police later said they had made arrests.

Margo belongs to a campaign group called Stop The Nonsense, which is also suspected of draping several Warsaw monuments, including a statue of Jesus Christ, with LGBT flags and anarchist symbols last week.

Prosecutors have charged three people in that case for desecrating monuments and hurting religious feelings.

The van from the Pro-Right to Life Foundation is a common sight in the centre of Warsaw, blasting homophobic slogans and plastered with posters linking homosexuality to paedophilia.