Poland: Four Dissidents in Court

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The official indictment charged the four men who went on trial in Warsaw last week with conspiring to overthrow the Communist system in Poland. That could mean only one thing: they had collaborated with the banned Solidarity movement. So when Intellectuals Jacek Kuron, Adam Michnik, Henryk Wujec and Zbigniew Romaszewski appeared before a military tribunal, former Solidarity Leader Lech Walesa broke off his summer vacation to travel to Warsaw. Although rows of police prevented Walesa from entering the military courthouse, his presence drew cheers and applause from the crowd that had gathered outside.

The case comes as an embarrassment to the government of General Wojciech Jaruzelski, who wants to improve relations with the U.S. Last spring the government offered to free the four men if they would refrain from all political activity and leave the Walesa country for a period. They refused. There has been widespread speculation that Jaruzelski will mark Poland's National Day on July 22 by offering an amnesty to all political prisoners from the Solidarity era, including the four men on trial. If convicted, the four could face up to ten years each in prison.