3 charged over LGBT flags on Warsaw statues

Warsaw: Three people accused of hanging LGBT rainbow flags off statues in the Polish capital of Warsaw have been arrested and charged with desecrating monuments and offending religious feelings, the media reported.

Activists protesting against the anti-LGBT policies of President Andrzej Duda hung the flags off statues of Jesus Christ, the astronomer Copernicus and the Warsaw mermaid, reports the BBC.

They also dressed them in pink face masks bearing the anarcho-queer symbol.

Prosecutors must now decide whether to bring the case to court.

In Poland, the crime of offending religious feelings is punishable by a fine of up to two years in prison.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki denounced the activists, saying the statues symbolise values that are important to millions of Poles.

The development came a day before President Duda, an ally of the ruling nationalist Law and Justice Party (PiS), is being sworn in for his second term in office on Thursday, the BBC reported.

He was re-elected on July 13, narrowly beating Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.

During his campaign earlier this year, Duda proposed incorporating a ban on same-sex marriage and adoption into Poland's constitution.