Polish prosecutor: 'Jews to Auschwitz’ chant not anti-Semitic

[Behind the Aegis]

Chants were directed at opposing team, not Jews, says judge.

WARSAW – A municipal prosecutor in the Polish city of Poznan has concluded that chants by soccer fans that made reference to Jews going to the gas chambers were not anti-Semitic, and therefore did not provide grounds for the filing of criminal charges.

The verbal taunts, in which the fans used language such as “Move on, Jews!” “Your home is at Auschwitz!” and “Send you to the gas [chamber]!”, were chanted by fans of local team Lech Poznan against the visiting side, Widzew Lodz.

Poland’s national prosecutor-general has required local prosecutors to investigate cases of possible racist incitement. In this instance, however, the local prosecutor concluded that because the incident occurred at a sporting event and the comments were only directed at the opposing team and not specifically at Jews, there were no grounds for prosecution.

The decision was condemned by Agnieszka Gliszczyńska-Grabiec, a spokeswoman for Open Poland – an organization that works to combat xenophobia and anti-Semitism. By this logic, she said, the prosecutor would only find indications of anti-Semitism “if bearded Jews wearing skullcaps and black coats were sitting in the stands.”

more: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.568462

[uriel1972]

1. Uh eh ah errr...

Words fail me...

[Behind the Aegis]

2. No surprises

Prosecutor says fan chants not anti-Semitic

---snip----

Apparently yes, according to a Polish municipal prosecutor in Poznan, who decided this week that chants by football fans are not criminal offenses.

---snip---

Prosecutor Monika Rutkowsk decided not to take any action against the Poznan fans on the grounds that their chants were directed at the opposing team and not specifically at Jews.

The team, Lech Poznan, said in a statement to CNN, "The club has already expressed its condemnation of this type of behavior and has fulfilled its obligations to the police and prosecutors."

"The club does not deal in the prosecution of groups of fans, because this is the task of the aforementioned police and prosecutors.

more: http://wavenewspapers.com/sports/article_839da9da-7e42-11e3-83bc-0019bb30f31a.html

I have seen this excuse used before.