Grzegorz Przemyk's funeral (1983)
25 years after the killing of 19-year old Grzegorz Przemyk, beaten to death by functionaries of the communist police, the court issues a guilty verdict, sentencing one former militia officer, Ireneusz Kościuk, to four years of prison.
Joanna Najfeld reports
Back in 1983, when the tragedy took place, Grzegorz Przemyk was in his final year of high school. His mother was a poet, active in opposition circles. Grzegorz was arrested by the communist police, while he was celebrating his high school final exams, taken to the police quarters and beaten to death.
After Przemyk's death, as a warning to anti-communist trouble makers, the militia abducted and tortured Przemyk's schoolmate, Wojciech Cejrowski, who was known for his opposition activity. Cejrowski recalls the events following Przemyk's death:
'First there was a shock. Then, there was anger. Everybody in black, flowers and candles, crowds of people in front of the school building praying in silent protest. And the growing anger. Communists don't like anger. No matter where they come from - Cuba, China, you name it - they hate anger. They prefer fear. They like to keep people terrorized. So they kidnapped me to terrorize the rest of us. I was a well-known trouble maker, everybody knew my name, everbody knew my face, so - easy pick. They pick me up, they beat me up, they brake my fingers - to spread the fear.'
The communist authorities lied to the public, saying that it was the ambulance paramedics who caused Przemyk's death. Cejrowski's abduction and tortures were attributed to unknown criminals. The case files were forged and communist police officers received instructions on how to testify.
Over the past 19 years, since communism collapsed in Poland, five attempts to sentence those guilty of Przemyk's death have failed. The present verdict is low. The original sentence of 8 years was shortened by half, due to amnesty.
'He took part in the beating of Grzegorz Przemyk, mostly by hitting the victim strongly with his elbows in the abdomen area, while another functionary, Arkadiusz Denkiewicz, already sentenced for the crime, was urging other functionaries to beat the victim in a way that will not leave marks,' said the judge, Monika Niezabitowska-Nowakowska.
Przemyk's killer, Ireneusz Kościuk, who was himself 20 years old at the time, was proven guilty of beating which resulted in death. He was not sentenced for a communist crime, since the court was unable to prove that the killer was aware of the victim's mother's political activities.
Leopold Przemyk, the father of the victim, said the verdict was not enough, suggesting that not only the executioner, but also those who gave orders for such actions, should be put on trial.
'It's the sword, and what about the hand that held it?' Leopold Przemyk told journalists.
Close friend of the victim's mother, Ligia Urmiaż-Grabowska, was more outspoken. 'Something important has happened, it is the first step. This is a minimum of historical justice. The boy was murdered, nothing will bring him back to life. But I still cannot understand why it took so long the free Poland,' she said.
Historian Antoni Dudek considers this ruling the last in the series of three important cases concerning communist crimes - the previous two being the crushing of a workers' strike in the "Wujek" coal mine, the shootings of protesters in Lublin. In Dudek's opinion, while this ruling is a small victory, many of those who gave orders for communist brutality and crimes, including former president Wojciech Jaruzelski, have escaped justice and are still free.
Until recently, Grzegorz Przemyk's killer, Ireneusz Kościuch, was still working for the Polish police. He now receives a high pension. The defense says the will appeal the verdict.