Polish dissident courier honoured by Czech Defense Ministry

A Polish dissident who for many years smuggled correspondence and samizdat literature to Charter 77 in communist Czechoslovakia has received a high military distinction from the Czech Defense Ministry. Jan Mroczkowski, 73, a legend among dissident couriers, made dozens of crossings across the Czech-Polish border with a backpack stuffed with dissident correspondence in the 1980s.He made a significant contribution to maintaining contacts between the Czechoslovak and Polish dissent. Mroczkowski is the first Polish national to receive the Zlatá lípa award for an outstanding contribution to the country’s security and defense.