The court in Gdańsk has taken up the case against former senator Waldemar Bonkowski, who was sentenced, among other things, to one year in prison, three of which were suspended, for cruelly abusing a dog, who died as a result.
The appeal proceedings took place after the sentencing of 62-year-old Waldemar Bonkowski (he agreed to provide personal data and reveal his image – PAP) by the court in Kościerzyna in April this year. A hearing took place on Friday after five appeals were filed. The case was presided over by Judge Szczepan Stożyński of the Gdańsk District Court.
Bonkowski was charged with “mistreating the dog with particular cruelty in such a way that he tied the animal to the hitch of the car, started it and increased speed so that the dog could not keep up, fell and was dragged along”. The incident happened in March 2021.
Five animal protection organizations are acting as auxiliary plaintiffs in the trial. According to the autopsy, the animal suffered “injuries to internal organs resulting in circulatory and respiratory failure,” which killed it. The entire event was captured by a car’s camera following Bonkowski’s car. The video shows the man tying the dog to the car with a rope and starting the car. The animal initially runs, but later cannot keep up with the moving car. It overturns and is dragged behind the vehicle. The video has been handed over to the police.
As a final word, prosecutor Marcin Lubiński of the district prosecutor’s office in Kościerzyna called for an absolute prison sentence.
The suspect, who tied the dog to the car, acted with particular cruelty. He had committed fraud at the beginning of the proceedings and expressed no remorse during the trial
– said prosecutor Lubinski and demanded an absolute prison sentence.
I ask for 1 year and 10 months in prison and a ban on keeping animals for 10 years and an additional PLN 30,000. zloty
said the prosecutor.
Bonkiewski’s translations
The former senator has consistently pleaded not guilty. In his final word to the court, he explained that he had been dealing with dogs for 50 years.
I have been an animal lover all my life. I’ve never hurt an animal. My goal was to bring the dog home. It was not my intention to mistreat a dog. To kill the dog. I would be some kind of psychopath. I could do it in the garden. There is no most despicable term that I mistreated animals with particular cruelty
Bonkowski told the court.
In April this year the court of first instance found him guilty. In April this year, Kościerzyna District Court Judge Krystyna Lemańczyk-Brzoskowska sentenced him to one year in prison suspended for three years (during which time Bonkowski will be supervised by a probation officer), a five-year dog ownership ban and 20,000 fines. PLN for Gdańsk Animal Care Association.
The circumstances of the alleged act do not raise any doubt in the court’s mind
– Judge Lemańczyk-Brzoskowska motivated and emphasized that the evidence (video), witness statements and expert opinions formed the basis for the decision. The judge indicated that the sentence was suspended due to Bonkowski’s previous criminal record and a positive criminological prognosis for the future.
Justification for revocation of the judgment and referral of the case for reconsideration
In Friday’s statement of reasons for withdrawing the verdict and referring the case to the court in Kościerzyna for re-examination, Judge Szczepan Stożyński indicated that such verdict is neither favorable nor unfavorable to the defendant. According to the court, veterinary experts’ opinion of the dog’s cause of death is flawed, requiring clarification — especially when it comes to when and how the dog’s injuries and death occurred. According to the court, this was not explained in the proceedings at first instance.
The opinion (…) contains no indication as to whether this dog’s death could actually have occurred in the circumstances presented in this footage
said the judge.
Waldemar Bonkowski is a well-known local politician in Kashubia. He was elected senator from the Law and Justice party in the 2015 parliamentary elections. In February 2018, after a series of anti-Semitic posts on social media, he was suspended from the party by PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński and became an unaffiliated senator. In the 2019 election, he sought re-election from his own election commission, but failed to enter parliament.
tkwl/PAP
Source: wPolityce