Poland court issues suspended sentence to communist-era interior minister News
Poland court issues suspended sentence to communist-era interior minister
Photo source or description

[JURIST] The Warsaw Provincial Court handed down a two-year suspended sentence to former interior minister Gen. Czeslaw Kiszczak Thursday. The court found Kiszczak guilty in absentia in relation to the implementation of martial law [Polish government backgrounder] in 1981. Martial law was declared on December 13, 1981, by Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski [personal website, in Polish], who was declared too sick to stand trial, in an attempt to squelch the Solidarity movement [official website], an opposition group. This caused thousands of people to be illegally detained as well about 100 people to be killed. Kiszczak’s sentence will be suspended for five years.

This trial has been going on for more than three years [JURIST report] and involves many of the Polish leaders in 1981, including Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski and seven other Communist-era officials. Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in March that the 1981 declaration of martial law violated the country’s then-governing constitution [text]. The trial hit several snags between 2008 and 2011, with both the death of the presiding judge and Jaruzelski’s own failing health having delayed the proceedings for several years.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US spy Nathan Hale executed in New York

US spy Nathan Hale was executed on September 22, 1776 after he was captured by British forces during the American Revolutionary War. Hale went to British-occupied New York City to gather intelligence on military operations. He was captured and executed within a month, purportedly declaring "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" before his death at the age of 21. Learn more from the American Battlefield Trust.

Eight executed for witchcraft in Salem

On September 22, 1692, two men and six women were executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. Read more about the Salem witchcraft trials in JURIST's Famous Trials series.

Queen Victoria becomes the longest-reigning monarch in UK history

On September 22, 1896, Queen Victoria became the longest-reigning monarch in English history. One of the country's most successful rulers, Victoria oversaw the expansion of the British Empire to its greatest height of power during her reign of 63 years and 7 months. Read Victoria's speeches to the British Parliament from Archive.org.