Pandemic verdict final. They will be held responsible for assault after remark about not wearing a mask

The District Court in Zamość (Lubelskie) upheld the verdict for siblings accused of assaulting officers who drew their attention to the lack of a mask in a shopping mall during the coronavirus pandemic. Mateusz K. and his sister were sentenced to over a year in prison.

In April last year, the District Court in Zamość found the siblings guilty of, among other things, assaulting and insulting public officials. Mateusz K. was sentenced to a total of one year and two months in prison, and his sister Kamila K. to one year and one month in prison. Both were also ordered to pay PLN 3,000 in compensation to the injured police officer.

Both sides of the case appealed the verdict. The prosecutor's office demanded a sentence of two and a half years in prison for the man. The defendants' lawyers requested their acquittal.

The final judgment was reported to PAP on Monday by Paweł Tobała, spokesman for the District Court in Zamość. "The court upheld the contested judgment," the spokesman said.

In December 2021, during a joint patrol in a shopping mall in Zamość, a police officer and a municipal guard warned siblings without face masks to cover their mouths and noses. During the intervention, the pair attacked them. According to investigators, they pulled and pushed the officers, and hit the policeman in the head with their hands. Despite warnings about the possibility of using direct coercion, the siblings continued to be aggressive. During the operation, the officers used a stun gun on Mateusz K. and tear gas on Kamila K.

The District Prosecutor's Office in Zamość accused the siblings of an active assault on public officials and insulting them. In addition, the man was held accountable in court for using threats - and the woman for violence - in order to force the officers to abandon their duties. The suspects did not admit to the charges. They were held accountable in court from freedom. (PAP)

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