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 that died as a result.
The appeal proceedings followed the April ruling by the Kościerzyna court. Waldemar Bonkowski, aged 62, agreed to provide personal data and reveal his image for the case. A hearing was held on Friday after five appeals were filed. The bench was chaired by Judge Szczepan Stożyński of the Gdańsk District Court.
Bonkowski faced charges of mistreating a dog with particular cruelty by tying the animal to a car hitch, starting the engine, and increasing speed so the dog could not keep up, leading to its fall and being dragged along. The incident occurred in March 2021.
Five animal protection organizations act as auxiliary plaintiffs in the trial. Autopsy results showed injuries to internal organs causing circulatory and respiratory failure, which led to the dog’s death. The event was recorded by a car’s camera following Bonkowski’s vehicle. The footage shows the dog tied to the car with a rope, the car starting, and the animal initially running before failing to keep pace, overturning, and being dragged. The video was handed to the police.
Prosecutor Marcin Lubiński of the Kościerzyna district prosecutor’s office urged a strict prison sentence at the close of the hearing.
The suspect’s actions, including tying the dog to the car, were described as displaying particular cruelty. He was accused of fraud at the start of the proceedings and showed no remorse during the trial, according to the prosecutor.
I request a sentence of 1 year and 10 months in prison, a 10-year ban on keeping animals, and a penalty of 30,000 zlotys, the prosecutor stated.
The former senator has consistently pleaded not guilty. In his closing statement, he explained decades of work with dogs and expressed that he loves animals and never intended to harm one. He claimed his goal was to bring the dog home and denied any intent to mistreat or kill the animal.
In April, the Kościerzyna District Court found him guilty and sentenced him to one year in prison, suspended for three years with probation supervision, a five-year ban on dog ownership, and a 20,000 zloty fine to the Gdańsk Animal Care Association. The court noted that the evidence, including video, witness statements, and expert opinions, supported the decision, and that the suspension took into account the defendant’s prior criminal record and a favorable criminological prognosis.
During Friday’s statement of reasons, the judge announced the revocation of the verdict and referred the case back to Kościerzyna for re-examination, stating that the initial veterinary opinion on the dog’s death was flawed and required clarification, particularly regarding the timing and manner of the injuries and death as shown in the footage.
The court emphasized that the opinion did not clarify whether the depicted circumstances could have caused the dog’s death as seen in the footage.
Waldemar Bonkowski is a prominent local politician in the Kashubia region. He was elected as a senator for the Law and Justice party in 2015. In February 2018, after a series of anti-Semitic social media posts, he was suspended from the party and became an unaffiliated senator. He attempted re-election in 2019 but did not secure a seat in parliament.
(Source: wPolityce) [citation: wPolityce]