The Communist Trial of Dr Janez Veider

Nik Trontelj

The Communist Trial of Dr Janez Veider

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62983/rn2865.24a.5

Key words:Janez Veider, trial, communism, judicial rehabilitation, democratization

Abstract:
Janez (Ivan) Veider (1896–1964), a priest and art historian, was convicted in a show trial in Ljubljana after the Second World War (1949) and spent his most fruitful years of research, after obtaining his doctorate (1946) and beginning his academic career, in prison, from where he was released after serving six years of his sentence. The case of the criminal conviction of Veider involves violations of the criminal law of the Republic of Slovenia, which is why the verdict was subject to review in independent Slovenia. Veider was finally acquitted of all charges by the Supreme Court posthumously in April 2021. This article, which presents the course of the trial against Veider, aims to draw attention to the obvious elements of a show trial, which also appeared in a similar form in other political trials against Slovenian priests, religious men and women.

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