Pavel Wonka (January 21, 1953 – April 24, 1988) was a Czechoslovak liberal political activist, dissident, human rights activist, anti-communist, and the last political prisoner to die in a communist prison in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. He was born in Vrchlabí and died in Hradec Králové.
Pavel Wonka | |
|---|---|
 Photographs from Pavel Wonka's prison file (1988) | |
| Born | January 21, 1953 |
| Died | April 24, 1988 (aged 35) |
| Nationality | Czechoslovakia |
| Known for | Last political prisoner to die in a communist prison in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic |
| Awards | Medal of Merit |
He was born to a family of mixed Czech and German origin; a liberal supporter of parliamentary democracy, he became involved in the resistance against the communist regime of Czechoslovakia. As a result he was arrested for his liberal views, brutally beaten, starved, tortured and interrogated by the communist secret police. He was initially released because of bad health, but the judge, Marcela Horváthová, sent him back to prison for another five months. There he died due to a lack of medical care. He was the last Czechoslovak political prisoner who died while imprisoned; after the fall of communism the persecution of Wonka was deemed a human rights violation by the regime.[1]
On 28 October 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Merit.[2]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ Novák, František. "Před dvaceti lety zemřel ve vězení Pavel Wonka". Týdeník Respekt.
- ^ "Pavel Wonka: Poslední oběť komunistického režimu". www.rozhlas.cz. 16 September 2015.