Walesa Calls for End of ‘Terror’ Following Trial

Lech Walesa, leader of the outlawed Solidarity trade union, called Friday for an end to repression and “propaganda terror” in Poland following the conviction of four secret police officers for their roles in the murder of a pro-Solidarity priest.

Walesa, in his first public reaction to the trial, criticized the government’s handling of the case and said authorities had failed to alleviate public fears about injustice in Poland.

A panel of judges in Torun on Thursday convicted three secret police officers of kidnapping and murdering Father Jerzy Popieluszko and sentenced them to prison terms of 14 years to 25 years. Their commanding officer received a 25-year sentence for instigating the crime.

‘Facts Make Us Doubt’

“We would like to recognize this trial as a sign of the good will of the authorities toward accord, of the advantage of the force of law over the right of force,” Walesa, 41, said in a statement read by one of his aides. “But new facts occurred which make us doubt it.”

He cited the government’s refusal to allow Seweryn Blumsztajn, a prominent Solidarity activist, to return to Poland from three years’ exile in France. Police stopped Blumsztajn at Warsaw airport Tuesday and put him on a return flight to Paris.

“There are still Poles who are denied equal rights in the homeland because they hold different views,” Walesa said.

Blumsztajn went to the Polish Embassy in Paris on Friday to apply for a new passport. He was accompanied by his lawyer, Beatrice Deryn, and representatives of France’s three main trade unions.

He said afterwards a consular official told him his problem in Warsaw had been “purely one of formality” and he had to await for an answer from the Polish capital. The official did not say when the answer would come.

Walesa said in his statement: “I call for an end to illegal acts against citizens, humiliating human dignity, repressing people because of their views. I call for an end to propaganda terror.”

“The trial . . . revealed the horrible truth about the work of those services (the security apparatus) as well as the mentality of those people,” said Walesa, winner of the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize. “Let’s not forget that a Polish priest was killed by the functionaries of the state authorities.”

Capt. Grzegorz Piotrowski was sentenced to 25 years for playing the leading role in the murder. Lt. Leszek Pekala received 15 years and Lt. Waldemar Chmielewski 14 years for murder. Their superior, Col. Adam Pietruszka, received a 25-year sentence.

Walesa’s statement was read over the telephone by an aide, Henryka Kinaszewska, from the southern skiing resort of Zakopane, where the Polish union leader was vacationing with his family.

No Reaction, Comment

Walesa said he did not want to comment on the verdict, but added, “Forgiveness for such a cruel death, committed with pre-meditation in a planned, business-like manner, would only have complete moral value if there was a revival in our public life.”

“There is a need for forgiveness, but there is also a need for results in struggling against evil,” he said. “If this doesn’t happen, the chance created by this trial will be missed.”

The verdict against the four secret police officers was reported on the front pages of all major state-run newspapers Friday without government reaction or comment.

Roman Catholic Church authorities also refused to comment on the verdict and said the nation’s bishops would develop a statement on the trial at a meeting next Wednesday and Thursday.

Western diplomats said it appeared likely the four defendants would appeal the verdicts to the Supreme Court, and said there was a possibility the prison terms could be lowered by the high court.

One diplomat, who spoke on condition he not be identified, said the 25-year sentence for Pietruszka was a “political” decision that was not supported by evidence.

“The only proof was that he may have been involved in a coverup, which would only warrant maybe five years,” a foreign diplomat said

The diplomat said he believed the motive for the Pietruszka’s sentence was that the court wanted to prove that even high-ranking officials were not above the law.