Scion of Polish nobility jailed in property restitution case

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Warsaw court has confirmed the arrest order for a Polish businessman who is a descendant of one of Poland’s aristocratic families. The case highlights problems still resulting from the communist regime’s seizure of private property after World War II. Michal Sobanski, a 46-year-old businessman, has been held in isolation in a prison in the western Polish city of Wroclaw since June. The Appeals Court in Warsaw rejected his lawyers’ appeal against the temporary arrest, which means Sobanski must remain jailed until Dec. 20. The prosecutors argue only isolation can guarantee there will be no influencing of witnesses. Poland is the only country in Central Europe that has no legislation to regulate the return of seized property to pre-World War II owners or their inheritors.