Arrest warrant for UK based Stalin-era prosecutor
A Polish court issued an arrest warrant today for a Stalinist-era prosecutor now living in Britain who is accused of fabricating evidence against suspects in the notorious show trials of the 1950s.
Helena Wolinska, 88, who has lived in England since 1972 and is a British citizen, is accused of masterminding the wrongful arrest and execution of General Emil Fieldorf, a Second World War-era Polish hero, and of the wrongful arrest of 24 others.
If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Gen Fieldorf, known by the alias Nil, led the Polish underground Home Army, which rose up against the Nazi occupiers during the Second World War.
After the war, he refused to collaborate with the secret service of the new communist regime.
A regional military court in Warsaw said it has issued a European arrest warrant for Ms Wolinska – an EU warrant meant to speed up extraditions within the bloc.
The UK Home Office refused a previous extradition request for Ms Wolinska from Poland last year, arguing that the alleged wrongdoing took place too long ago.
