1951 Mokotów Prison execution

On March 1, 1951, the Soviet-controlled communist Polish secret police, Urząd Bezpieczeństwa (UB), carried out an execution of seven members of the 4th Headquarters of anti-Communist organization Wolność i Niezawisłość (WiN) in the Mokotów Prison in Warsaw. All executed were members of WiN, who during World War II took active part in anti-Nazi resistance.

The executed men were: Łukasz Ciepliński, Karol Chmiel, Adam Lazarowicz, Józef Rzepka, Józef Batory, Mieczysław Kawalec and Franciszek Błażej. All of the men were apprehended in late 1947 and early 1948, and almost all came from the Rzeszów area. They were personally chosen to take part in anti-communist resistance by Ciepliński, commanding officer of the WiN's 4th Headquarters, who chose them because of their moral fortitude and their unbroken spirits.

The interrogations conducted by Communist investigators that ensued were particularly brutal. All seven were tortured and severely beaten; Cieplinski's legs and hands were broken, and he had to be carried for meals in a blanket. A staged trial that took place on October 5, 1950, was led by a group of ruthless military prosecutors from the Warsaw Military District - Colonel Aleksander Warecki (real name Warenhaupt, who served as the presiding judge), Major Zbigniew Furtak, Major Zbigniew Trylinski and Lt. Col. Jerzy Tramer, who served as the Public Prosecutor.

The accused were not given an opportunity to refute charges brought against them, despite the fact that on several occasions Ciepliński had stated that he was tortured and that his confessions were extracted with the use of torture. The Communist judges disregarded his testimony. The courtroom was filled with UB functionaries. With approval of the presiding chief judge Warecki, the prosecutors publicly mocked the accused. The newspaper articles which covered the case ran stories that the accused men were "Traitors, spies and American servants [who] will be prosecuted".

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