Key facts in the prosecution of Justyna Wydrzyńska

The fifth trial date of Justyna Wydrzyńska took place on 6 February 2023. Justyna is accused of helping a woman (known as “Ania”) access safe abortion pills in 2020 in Poland. As the case approaches a year since it began, we wanted to summarise what you need to know from here. Some of this information is taken from Abortion Dream Team’s social media, and from their webpage here.

Key facts from 6 February trial

Justyna’s legal team and Ania* filed a motion to remove Ordo Iuris from the proceedings, after they made public personal information about Ania (who is a key witness in this trial, and whose identity is legally protected). Ordo Iuris are a fundamentalist anti-abortion group who have been included in the trial to advocate for ‘the interests of the foetus and its successors’. The motion to remove them was denied.

Ania gave her testimony on 6 February in a closed session with the judge. ADT thanked Ania for her testimony, saying “we are so impressed by her strength; she is a symbol of heroism and the will to fight for herself at the most difficult times of her life. If we were the religious fanatics [trying to intimidate her], we wouldn’t be able to look in the mirror.”

The court heard that the reason Ania hadn’t attended previous dates was because her violent ex-partner intercepted the court summons and forged her signature. This abusive man is the same person who called the police on Ania and Justyna when he discovered the abortion pills in 2020, and prevented Ania from travelling to an abortion clinic overseas. The judge notified the authorities of this possible criminal offence.

The public prosecutor has filed evidentiary motions against Justyna accusing her of ‘indecent behaviour outside of the courtroom, indicating criminal intent’. The evidence of this was a short video, shared on Facebook, of Justyna saying she gives information about Abortion Without Borders on the helpline. ADT has said the prosecutor’s office is ‘playing for time’.

ADT shared that an activist from an anti-abortion organisation (‘Right to Life foundation’) assisted those harassing Ania by revealing personal details of the witnesses, which she admitted to outside the courtroom.

The final hearing will take place on 14 March, and sentencing will be on 27 March. ADT said what is most important is that Ania was able to share her testimony at the trial on 6 February, and Justyna thanked her for her bravery.

About the case

Justyna Wydrzyńska is facing up to three years in prison after being charged with helping a woman access abortion pills in 2020. While it isn’t a crime to take abortion pills in Poland, helping someone access pills is criminalised. The woman Justyna helped is known as “Ania”, but this isn’t her real name. Ania was in an abusive relationship, and her husband had already prevented her from getting an abortion once before. Justyna helped Ania, and Ania’s husband called the police on both women when he found out.

After the first court date (April 2022), Justyna said:

“I know how crucial it is to believe that you can decide for yourself. It is extremely difficult to hold on to that belief in an abusive relationship. My abortion was my first step towards freedom and my children’s safety. It took me three years to leave my abusive husband. When I gave this person my pills, I wanted her to be able to make a decision about her life. I didn’t want her to have an abortion, I wanted her to have her own choice, I wanted her to be able to decide once she had the pills in her hand”.

This is the first case in Europe of an abortion activist being prosecuted for helping someone access an abortion. ADT and Abortion Without Borders are asking for support for Justyna as she faces these charges.

Support Justyna

Attend the court in Warsaw on 14 March and 27 March to show your support

Sign the Amnesty International petition calling for charges to be dropped

Share a message of solidarity using the hashtag #jakJustyna ([I am] ‘like Justyna’)