Another hearing in Self-defense sex scandal

The trial of Andrzej Lepper, leader of the Self-defence party and former MP Stanislaw Lyzwinski, continues in the court in Piotrkow Trybunalski, central Poland.

Today the court will hear the testimony of Zbigniew B. According to the prosecutor's office, between 1999-2000 Lyzwinski allegedly instigated the man's kidnapping, which was a means of forcing Zbigniew B. to pay him half a million zlotys for alleged inconsistencies in a business they were running together. The case of Zbigniew B. is indirectly related to the main investigation.

The Self-defence sex scandal hearings are proceeding behind closed doors for the sake of the alleged victims. Stanislaw Lyzwinski, in prison since August, was charged with rape, and, together with Lepper, for demanding and accepting services of a sexual nature from female party members, including Aneta Krawczyk, key witness and auxiliary prosecutor in the case.

Both Lepper and Lyzwinski pleaded not guilty. They are facing eight and ten years in prison respectively if convicted.

The investigation into the Self-defense sex scandal was launched after Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza published an article in December 2006 based on the account of Aneta Krawczyk, former Self-defense member and former head of Lyzwinski's parliamentary office. The woman claims to have been offered the position for providing both Lepper and Lyzwinski with services of a sexual nature.

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