Behemoth’s Nergal found “Guilty” in Polish Court for “Offending religious feelings”

Behemoth frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski has been found guilty in a Polish court in an initial ruling for “Offending Religious Feelings.” He will now have to pay a 15,000 zloty fine along with 3,500 zloty in legal fees (approximately $4980 USD in total).

The charge stems from an image the singer posted on social media in 2019 depicting him standing on top of a painting of the Virgin Mary during a video shoot. Conservative groups Ordo Luris and Patriotic Society brought the image to the attention of Polish authorities, who charged Nergal in Warsaw earlier this month.

Said Nergal in an Instagram post following the charges:

“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.”

Nergal has refused to plead guilty to the charge and has contested the ruling. The case will now be headed to trial.

Responding to the ruling on Instagram Tuesday, Nergal wrote:

“Will I let superstition and fundamentalist dogmas capitalize on this and EVERY other case of the same nature? FUCK NO! Nigel has some ases up his sleeve… Just wait and see.”

Earlier this morning (17th), Nergal shared an image of him wearing an Overkill “We don’t care what you say” t-shirt along with the following caption:

“How’s your “religious feelings” today?… my tee sayz how much I care my fellow Polish Catho-Talibs”

This isn’t the first time Nergal has been accused of blasphemy in his home country of Poland. He was acquitted of charges in 2010 after tearing up a bible on stage at a show in Gdynia in 2007. Then in 2018, he faced charges for a merch design that the government thought mocked the country’s coat of arms. Those charges were also dropped.