Rainbow Night

For the phenomenon of rainbows that appear at night, see Moonbow.
Rainbow Night
Tęczowa Noc
Part of the Polish LGBT rights movement
LGBT activists hang the rainbow flag on the Maria Konopnicka monument in Kraków in August 2020
Date7 August 2020
Location
 Poland
Caused byRising anti-LGBT rhetoric and the declaration of LGBT-free zones
MethodsDemonstrations, direct action, civil disobedience
Resulted inMass arrests of LGBT rights protestors
Parties
Lead figures

On 7 August 2020, a protest against the arrest of LGBT activist Margot led to a confrontation with police in central Warsaw, Poland, which resulted in the arrest of 47 others, some of whom were protesting, and others who were bystanders. The event was called Tęczowa Noc[1][2][3] – translated as Rainbow Night[4][5] – and was dubbed "Polish Stonewall" by some outlets, in an analogy to the 1969 Stonewall riots.[6][7][8]

Declarations of LGBT-free zones in 2019 and 2020 and the 2020 Polish presidential election—which saw President Andrzej Duda repeatedly stress his opposition to LGBT rights[9]—have led to protest from LGBT rights activists, who adopted direct action tactics. On 7 August, a court granted a request for Margot's pre-trial detention for two months. She presented herself for arrest while hundreds of sympathizers protested the arrest. The police initially declined to arrest her, but later tried to do so and were physically, but non-violently blocked by activists. The police then arrested 48 people: Margot, protestors, and others who had not taken part in the demonstration.

The action of the police on 7 August was criticised by the Polish Ombudsman, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights [pl], the Council of Europe human rights commissioner and dozens of celebrities, including Margaret Atwood. Critics have described the number of arrests as excessive, and protested against police brutality. Solidarity protests have occurred in several cities in Poland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. On 16 August, a right-wing demonstration was held in Warsaw opposing "LGBT aggression".

  1. ^ Ambroziak, Anton (3 February 2022). "Policjant o "Tęczowej Nocy": Otrzymaliśmy polecenie zatrzymania wszystkich oznakowanych barwami LGBT" [Police officer on "Rainbow Night": We have been ordered to stop all those marked with LGBT colors]. OKO.press.
  2. ^ Klimczak, Pawel (7 August 2021). "Rocznica Tęczowej Nocy. Nigdy nie zapomnijmy o 7-ego sierpnia" [Rainbow Night Anniversary. Let's never forget 7th August]. Poptown.eu.
  3. ^ Gmiterek-Zablocka, Anna (7 August 2022). "Dwa lata od Tęczowej Nocy. "Słuchając wypowiedzi Kaczyńskiego, nie wygląda na to, by PiS wyciągnął wnioski"" [Two years from Rainbow Night. "Listening to Kaczyński's statements, it does not seem that PiS has drawn conclusions"]. Tok FM [pl].
  4. ^ "'They Treated Us Like Criminals': From Shrinking Space to Harassment of LGBTI Activists" (PDF). Amnesty International. EUR 37/5882/2022. July 2022. Amnesty International raised specific human rights concerns over the events of the so-called Rainbow Night of 7 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Annual review of the human rights situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex people in Poland covering the period of January to December 2022" (PDF). ILGA-Europe. 2023. In March [2022], the District Attorney's Office dropped investigations against 41 of 48 people who were arrested on Rainbow Night in 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference wyborcza8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "LGBT+ activist behind 'Polish Stonewall' not afraid to die". Reuters. 3 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Polish Stonewall? Protesters decry government's anti-LGBTQ attitudes". NBC News. 10 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Arrest of Polish LGBT activist leads to scuffle with police". 7 August 2020.