Activist and artist Ľuboš Lorenz (source: Sme)
The Police have accused activist and artist Ľuboš Lorenz of disorderly conduct for removing eight communist symbols depicting the hammer and the sickle from a memorial for World War II victims.
Lorenz has been imprisoned since August 30 because he damaged the memorial which is included in the list of the cultural memorials of the Košice monuments board, according to Košice police spokesperson Jana Mésarová.
“If someone considers the memorial or its symbols as defamatory, he or she should choose a lawful way to correct this,” Mésarová said, as quoted by the SITA newswire, “because every wrongdoing can only be corrected by lawful means, not by violating other laws.”
In the past Lorenz also defaced the monument of communist-era leader, Vasil Biľak, built after he died in February 2014 and unveiled in his home village, Krajné Bystré, on February 21. The following night, Lorenz and artist Peter Kalmus painted the monument with the word Sviňa / Pig.
Later Lorenz wanted to paint over the memorial plaque in the village of Veľký Lipník (Prešov Region) honouring former communist general prosecutor and justice minister Ján Pječšak on May 28, 2016.
The Mayor of the village, Peter Labant, acted to prevent Lorenz from painting the plaque. Following the incident, Lorenz ended up in the hospital in Stará Ľubovňa, claiming that his rib had been broken.
