News In Brief

Warsaw outlaws rights units formed after priest's death

Government spokesman Jerzy Urban said Tuesday that human rights committees formed after the slaying of a pro-Solidarity priest are illegal and that their members face possible prosecution. He refused to say what type of legal action members of the committees could face.

Former Solidarity activists and intellectuals in Warsaw and two other cities have announced formation of committees to monitor reports of police excesses following the Oct. 19 abduction and killing of the Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko, the pro-Solidarity activist. The committees marks the first attempt by the opposition to undertake legal activities since the Dec. 13, 1981, imposition of martial law, which crushed Solidarity. Martial law was lifted in July 1983, but many of its restrictions remain in effect.