Grim Tale

Details of a martyr's death

Thousands of Poles waited in long lines last week to file past the wreath-banked grave of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, 37, the outspoken Solidarity supporter who was murdered by the secret police. Church officials who viewed the martyred priest's body reported that he had been savagely beaten. A rope had been tied around his neck, wrists and ankles so that he would strangle himself if he struggled to get free. Three fingers of Popieluszko's left hand were sliced through to the bone, and there were deep gouges on his arms. His lungs contained enough water to indicate that he was still breathing, even if unconscious, when he was tossed, bound hand and foot, into a reservoir.

There were also signs that General Wojciech Jaruzelski, whose government has arrested and charged four secret-police officers and suspended a general in the security forces in connection with the kidnaping, may be locked in a battle with hard-liners in the regime who may have staged the abduction to embarrass him. According to the Communist Party daily Trybuna Ludu, Jaruzelski received a report on party efforts that would "further strengthen ideological unity" in the Interior Ministry, a sign that he was trying to marshal his forces against hardliners.