He caused an accident on the A1 and fled Poland. His wife is suing internet users
Sebastian M.’s wife had had enough of online hate and decided to sue internet users who called her a “murderer”. The lawsuit also included the photographer who leaked her photos to the web.
In a high-profile accident on the A1 route, which was allegedly caused by Sebastian M., a 3-person family from Myszków died: Martyna, her husband Patryk and the couple’s 5-year-old son, Oliwier. The driver of the BMW that hit the Kia near Piotrków Trybunalski fled abroad and is currently at large in the United Arab Emirates. Outraged by this fact, Internet users have therefore chosen the man’s wife as their target and are attacking her in online comments.
BMW driver’s wife fights online hate
The woman decided to fight the hate directed at her. Through the Freedom 24 foundation, she sued the photographer who posted her wedding photos on the web. He posted the couple’s photos on his website without their consent. He removed them immediately after the accident, but the archive.today portal managed to make a copy of the page.
A lawsuit was also filed against an Internet user from Katowice who published a photo of Sebastian M.’s wife. “See the murderess – the wife of a murderer,” he wrote online. The same person also visited websites of dental offices and wrote in the comments that they employed “the wife of a murderer from a BMW.” Eventually, the woman was terminated from cooperation.
“The disclosure of the plaintiff’s image caused an avalanche of hate towards her person, and as a result, the loss of her job, making it impossible to practice her profession due to her recognition. This clearly destroyed the plaintiff’s possibility of developing her career, considering that she was a respected dentist. Currently, when entering her personal data in Google, the information that she is the wife of a murderer immediately pops up,” wrote “Gazeta Wyborcza”, quoting a fragment of the lawsuit.
Will lawsuits stop online lynching of Sebastian M’s family?
The Freedom 24 Foundation emphasizes that his actions were intended to hit Sebastian M., but they also affected the BMW driver’s family. They link them to the woman’s dismissal from work and the deprivation of the opportunity to work at another company, and are demanding PLN 200,000 in compensation. “We hope that this lawsuit, as well as lawsuits filed against other Internet users, will slow down the online lynching of Sebastian M.’s family members. After all, they were not the ones driving the BMW,” emphasized Michał Wdowczyk from Freedom 24.
Many internet users, however, do not accept the arguments about hate towards the family and recall the suffering of the loved ones of Sebastian M.’s victims. “These are the effects of the inaction of the police and prosecutor’s office. This is the effect of the fact that the people who made it possible to escape abroad were not punished,” quotes one of the entries from the Fakt.pl portal.
“Since the state, police and prosecutors can’t do anything, the people are taking up the task of administering justice themselves. Especially since state representatives are obstructing the case,” another person added. Many people also emphasize that Sebastian M.’s wife has never condemned her husband’s behavior. “No one has been held accountable for this. No one is asking how it happened that the perpetrator went away,” they are outraged.
What about the extradition of Sebastian M?
Sebastian M. is still outside Poland. He is not even currently in custody, which was lifted in early February. The UAE is said to have used other measures to ensure that the man remains in the country. His passport was taken away and he was banned from traveling, and bail was imposed.
– We have received assurances from the Emirati authorities that despite the application of non-custodial preventive measures in the extradition proceedings, there is no chance that Mr. Sebastian M. will leave the territory of this country – in other words, they are taking such actions to make it impossible. They are also guaranteeing the presence of Mr. Sebastian M. in the Emirates until the end of the extradition proceedings – assured prosecutor Anna Adamiak from the National Prosecutor’s Office in February.
Tragic accident on A1
A tragic accident on the A1 motorway occurred on September 16 near the town of Sierosław. As a result of the accident, a passenger car in which a family of three was travelling, including a 5-year-old boy, burned down. The evidence gathered indicates that Sebastian M., driving a BMW car that could have been involved in the accident, was speeding at a speed of up to 300 kilometres per hour at the time of the accident.