WARSAW, Poland (AP) — An government official says Poland has slashed the pensions of about 40,000 communist-era officials and secret police officers, on grounds they violated human rights.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Malgorzata Wozniak saidJan. 5the law took effect Jan. 1 and cuts the monthly payments by more than 50 percent to around $1,000 (3,000 zlotys). The national average is around $570.
Among those affected are Poland’s last communist leader, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, and others who imposed martial law in 1981 in an attempt to crush the Solidarity movement.
Poland’s now dominant center-right parties have pushed to punish former communist leaders. A special court will rule later this month whether the law is unconstitutional.
