On September 25, 2019, Adam "Nergal" Darski, a founding member of Behemoth, posted a picture of his feet in his personal Facebook account, stepping on what appears to be a de-framed painting of the Virgin Mary.
Behemoth is a Polish extreme metal band formed in 1991. They were immortalized as one of the most influential bands in Poland and established Poland's extreme metal scene. Their 1994 album, From the Pagan Vastlands, cemented the band's place amongst the great metal precursors.
In February 2021, he was convicted of "offending religious feelings" and was asked to pay 15,000 PLN plus an additional 3,500 PLN or up to a total of almost $5,000. The conviction followed after a religious group called Patriotic Society and a conservative legal organization called Ordo Luris filed legal complaints on behalf of four people who were offended by Nergal's post.
Nergal contested the conviction, which pushed the battle to a full legal trial. The battle was difficult, allies were scarce, and hope was slim. Nergal, like other Polish artists targeted by Polish politicians for religious blasphemy, resorted to online crowd-funding.
"Case DISMISSED" Nergal posted on Instagram, announcing his victory. The jury ruled to dismiss the case. The ruling stated that the post in question was posted in a social media channel targeted for a specific audience, with an appropriate disclaimer. "Common sense beats the shit out of fundamentalist agenda," he added on the same post.
