Since 2008, Łukasz Kasprowicz has run a blog where he criticized the actions of Zofia Spinger, the mayor of Mosina, Poland. Mayor Spinger filed charges for defamation (under article 212 (2) of the Criminal Code) before the Poznań-Stare Miasto District Court. She indicated 15 blog posts that she found insulting.

In 2011, the District Court stated that, first of all, a blog is one of the means of mass media and Mr. Kasprowicz, by disseminating on his blog the allegations concerning the actions of the mayor, has discredited her in the face of public opinion, which could result in a loss of the confidence necessary for the position of mayor.

The court found Mr. Kasprowicz guilty of defamation and imposed severe penalties. The blogger was sentenced to 300 hours of community work and ordered to apologize to the mayor in writing and pay a monetary sanction of PLN 500 to the Polish Red Cross. Further, the first-instance court banned the defendant from working as a journalist for the period of one year.

The Circuit Court in Poznań reversed the decision of the first-instance court and discontinued the criminal proceedings brought against Mr. Kasprowicz, citing negligible social harm presented by the alleged offense. However, the Supreme Court upheld the cassation complaints filed by the counsel of the private accuser and twice remanded the case for reconsideration.

In the final judgment of January this year, the Circuit Court in Poznań conditionally discontinued the proceedings against Mr. Kasprowicz for one year of probation and ruled a monetary sanction of PLN 500 to the Victim and Postpenitentiary Assistance Fund.

In the application to the ECtHR, Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska and advocate Artur Pietryka, representing the blogger, indicated the violation of Article 10 of the Convention (freedom of expression).

"The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has been monitoring this trial from its very beginning," said Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska, HFHR's lawyer. "We believe that in this case, there should be no criminal trial or sentencing of the blogger. The whole thing should be explained in civil proceedings, which in fact are in progress," said Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska.