Halina Ostas: The new head of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, Jarosław Szarek, asked about the possibility of extraditing Stefan Michnik, a communist-era judge who has been hiding in Scandinavian countries for years now, said: “All of the communist criminals, including judges, should face trial, but the final decision must be made by prosecutors.”
I’m speaking to Tadeusz Płużański, a columnist, historian, the head of the “Łączka” foundation, the author of many books on communist crimes, and the author of an article on Stefan Michnik in Gazeta Polska… Do you think the extradition of Stefan Michnik from Sweden is possible?
Tadeusz Płużański: Obviously, we have to hope so. This communist criminal, because we have to call him that, is today a citizen of Sweden, and esteemed in Western countries, and even in Poland is often deemed not guilty. I’m happy about Jarosław Szarek’s declaration that the Institute will take the necessary steps to conduct the extradition of Stefan Michnik from Sweden.
It’s an important declaration by a state official, an official who is seeking basic justice. We are dealing with a communist crime, or a series of crimes committed by Stefan Michnik against Poles, against the Polish nation.
We must remember that he is guilty. Of course the court must confirm this, but history has judged his deeds. He is guilty of court crimes, he sentenced Polish patriots who stood up to Soviet occupation to death. As a judge of the Military Court in Warsaw he ruled against Poland’s interest, being aware that his rulings would lead to the death of Polish heroes fighting for independence.
He was, indeed very young, but he was well aware of his deeds. His family was well-educated, and from what we know he was fully aware of the criminal character of a string of his rulings. Stefan Michnik’s victims are buried today at the Powązki cemetery, at the famous “Łączka” site […]
Halina Ostas: As you said, he sentenced at least nine innocent people, Polish heroes, to death. Some of the rulings were carried out. Has the Polish government tried to take steps to extradite him before?
Tadeusz Płużański: Yes, Poland tried to enforce basic justice, and make Michnik face trial but, unfortunately, I have to say that all the efforts were unsuccessful. Stefan Michnik’s case is being stretched out for years and years. Without the Polish Institute of National Remembrance it was impossible to even charge him, but since the creation of the institute, procedures were started and efforts were made to extradite this criminal.
Unfortunately, the procedures were not effective. As we remember, the institute witnessed a lot of changes in terms of heads. The first head – Leon Kieres – failed to bring the matter to an end. Janusz Kurtyka, acted quite differently as the head of the institute - he put in a lot of effort to show the truth about Polish heroes and chase communist criminals, and bring them to justice. Unfortunately the motion for an extradition was rejected by the Swedish authorities, which claimed that even if Stefan Michnik was a communist criminal he is now a good citizen, a librarian, not a judge who sentenced people to death. [Michnik] was then working in a library in Uppsala. Unfortunately, the institute’s efforts were not effective. We’ll see this time. Let me remind you that there is a European arrest warrant out for Stefan Michnik. Everything now depends on the determination of the Polish authorities. […]
Halina Ostas: The Stefan Michnik case will be a test for the Institute of National Remembrance, because we must stress that his decisions were deemed communist crimes, and his victims were rehabilitated, even posthumously.
Tadeusz Płużański: That’s true. Even in legal terms, the case seems obvious. Those historians who can objectively look at the case have, I believe, already judged Stefan Michnik. History has judged Michnik. One more element is needed: the justice system of an independent Poland must now bring the matter to an end, and Stefan Michnik must be called a criminal, with the blood of innocent people on his hands. It must be a warning for the future generations that if there is a crime, if there is guilt, there must also be punishment. […] We had Nazi crimes, which were at least partially punished, and communism must be called a criminal totalitarian system [as well] and the people responsible must be punished. First, by the courts, but also their high military pensions must be cut, and their awards, which they often got for their crimes against Polish heroes, must be taken away from them as well.