WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Prosecutors in southern Poland are facing criticism for dropping a case against a group of far-right activists who in 2017 strung photos on makeshift gallows of six liberal Polish European Parliament members.

Critics condemned the decision Tuesday by Katowice prosecutors as politically motivated and said the prosecutor general is a prominent member of Poland’s ruling right-wing government. They recalled the assassination this year of Gdansk’s liberal mayor amid a hate campaign.

In their public stunt in 2017, a group of right-wing nationalists sought to use the gallows reference to condemn the actions of the liberal politicians in the European Parliament.

Katowice prosecutors said the “enactment” was not criminal but an expression of views.