6 Ex-Communists Get Long Jail Terms

Six former Communist leaders were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms for siding with Soviet troops during a bloody 1991 crackdown. Mykolas Burokevivius, 72, the former first secretary of the Lithuanian Communist Party, was sentenced to the longest term--12 years--for his actions during Lithuania’s drive for independence. Lithuanian authorities say the men sided with the Soviet Union during civil disturbances in 1991. The Baltic republics of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia regained their independence in 1991 after 50 years of Soviet occupation. Fourteen people were killed and hundreds injured when Soviet troops tried to occupy public buildings in Vilnius, the capital, during the Jan. 11-13 unrest.