Poles Show Film of Dissident’s Interrogation

In a rare move, state-run Polish television showed footage Monday night of the police interrogation of Zbigniew Bujak, arrested last month as the nation’s most wanted underground Solidarity leader.

The film, dated June 14, showed Bujak answering questions about the U.S. dollars found on him when he was arrested and about money found later in his hiding place.

Bujak, bearded and answering questions calmly, explained it was money he earned for granting interviews.

“Usually you are not paid for granting interviews, but in my situation the interviews were written down and treated as a text for which I received royalties,” Bujak said.

Asked how much he got for interviews, Bujak said: “It was enough.”

Electronic Equipment

The government-run television then showed footage of electronic equipment of various sorts: calculators, tape recorders, a small personal computer, small radios and a walkie-talkie.

“A preliminary analysis points out that the detainees (Bujak and other people arrested with him) used classical equipment used in intelligence activities,” a narrator said. “Information was coded electronically by means of a computer.”

Bujak, 31, was the most-wanted underground Solidarity leader until his arrest by secret police last month. He was a leading member of the underground Solidarity ruling body, the Temporary Coordinating Committee.

The arrest was a blow to the outlawed Solidarity trade union movement. Bujak went underground on Dec. 13, 1981, the day the Communist government imposed martial law, since lifted, and banned Solidarity.

The press statement after his arrest said: “The documents seized at his arrest indicate that he had contacts with subversive centers in the West. Bujak is charged with undertaking actions aiming at overthrowing the system of people’s Poland by force.”

If found guilty of the charge, Bujak could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.