Justice Minister backs controversial deputy prosecutor general Kaucz

During a Friday night meeting, Justice Minister Barbara Piwnik told Prime Minister Leszek Miller that after an in-depth analysis of the situation, she does not see any ground for dismissing controversial deputy prosecutor general Andrzej Kaucz. This does not, however, mean the end of the controversy resulting from Kaucz's actions in the 1980s, when on the orders of the Communist government he served as a prosecutor in the trials of members of the Solidarity opposition. Both the current Justice Minister as well as her predecessor, Stanislaw Iwanicki, insist that in the later years of his career Kaucz has proven to be a valuable professional and fully qualified to serve as deputy prosecutor general. However, presidential aide and former member of the anti-Communist Solidarity opposition Barbara Labuda claims that Kaucz was the prosecutor in the case against her and says that she remembers him as an "exceptionally vile individual." Kaucz denies ever prosecuting Labuda. Prime Minister Miller has said he will seek to resolve the issue. Asked what would be the situation if it turned out Labuda was right about Kaucz's involvement in her case, Miller said, "This will no longer be an issue of Mr. Kaucz's professionalism, but whether or not he is telling the truth." (Rzeczpospolita, Nov.10-11, p. A3) T.J.