Slovak Anti-Communist Resistance Fighter Dies, Was Among Country's Longest-Imprisoned Political Prisoners

Jaroslav Fabok, one of Slovakia's longest-imprisoned political prisoners from the communist era, has died. Fabok was sentenced to death for his resistance activities against the communist regime, though his sentence was later commuted. He described himself as a rebel who opposed totalitarian thinking and spent decades in prison for his anti-communist activities. Fabok's case represents one of the most severe examples of political persecution during Slovakia's four decades under communist rule from 1948 to 1989, when thousands of Slovaks were imprisoned, executed, or forced into exile for opposing the regime.