Maciej Fijak of the SmogLab.pl website spoke to the activist of the non-governmental and nonprofit climate organisation Bombelki, Nawojka Ciborska, who was sued by the state-owned company Gaz-System. In an article about the organization's actions published last year the 21-year-old wrote:

"Gas is a dangerous fossil fuel that we need to move away from, not invest in [...] Gaz-System is a gang of criminals who, for their profits, are pushing us straight to disaster," Ciborska wrote.

Furthermore, Bombelki organised an action against, among others, Gaz-System.

"Last year on Warsaw's promenades we projected slogans criticising gas development in Poland and the companies responsible for it. We literally highlighted the gas problem in Poland. This is because wherever you look in the media, you will not hear a bad word about gas. We have to oppose the pushy propaganda of the fuel companies," explains Ciborska in an interview with SmogLab.pl.

Gaz-System did not like Ciborska's article and Bombelki's actions. To the extent that the state-owned company decided to sue the activist.

"I was sued as the author of the article, but the foundation that runs the Zielone Wiadomości portal was also sued," the activist points out.

"It is all about this one particular phrase that was mentioned. We see the lawsuit as an attempt to intimidate us. They are demanding an apology and PLN 20,000 from us. We are being dragged through the courts by a company that records PLN 600 million in profit each year. For them it is nothing, but where am I supposed to get such money from?" Ciborska wonders.

The date for the hearing has not yet been set. However, the activists already have the support of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. "We are grateful for the support in the uneven fight against the giant," emphasises the activist.

"Our demand is to stop new gas investments. We are not talking about shifting away from gas completely yet. What we propose is not to switch from coal to gas, that is, from one fossil fuel to another. You can use coal for a while longer and then switch directly to renewables," explains Ciborska.

"We have a number of events planned this week, including a workshop in Warsaw. You can support us, come and talk about the climate. You are welcome!" the activist encourages everyone to participate.

Source: SmogLab.pl