JUDr. Josef Urválek (28 April 1910,

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

– 29 November 1979,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

) was a

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

and later judge of the Czechoslovak state court. He is known for his participation in the political processes in socialist

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

during the 1950s. In a number of show trials, most notably during the

Slánský trial The Slánský trial (officially English: "Trial of the Leadership of the Anti-State Conspiracy Centre Headed by Rudolf Slánský") was a 1952 antisemitic show trial against fourteen members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), incl ...

, he was responsible for securing the death sentences of

Milada Horáková Milada Horáková (née Králová, 25 December 1901 – 27 June 1950) was a Czech politician and a member of underground resistance movement during World War II. She was a victim of judicial murder, convicted and executed by the nation's Commu ...

and of 14 communist functionaries, including

Rudolf Slánský Rudolf Slánský (31 July 1901 – 3 December 1952) was a leading Czech Communist politician. Holding the post of the party's General Secretary after World War II, he was one of the leading creators and organizers of Communist rule in Czechosl ...

, on trumped-up charges of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. When cross-examining the accused, he would frequently interrupt them, make intolerant remarks, and compare them to insects and the worst human waste. At Slánský's trial, he said in his final speech "I demand the death sentence for all accused. Let justice smash like an iron fist, without the slightest pity. Let it be the fire that shall burn out this nest of enemies." After the trials he rose within the party ranks, being made leader of the highest court in 1957. He retired from this post in 1963 to join the ''Výzkumný ústav kriminalistiky'' ("Research Institute of Criminalistics") in the general prosecution. He wrote an article "Některé poznatky z výzkumu ochranného dohledu v souvislosti s prokurátorským dozorem" ("Some findings from protective supervision research in the context of prosecution") together with future

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

politician

Helena Válková Helena Válková (born 7 January 1951) is a Czech politician, university professor, and lawyer, specialising in criminal law and criminology. From January 2014 until March 2015 she was the Czech Minister of Justice in the government of Bohuslav S ...

. He died in 1979. ''This article is based on a translation of an article from the

Czech Wikipedia The Czech Wikipedia ( cs, Česká Wikipedie) is the Czech language edition of Wikipedia. This Wikipedia contains articles, active users, and administrators. It was created on May 3, 2002 (Translation: "The Czech version of Wikipedia starte ...

.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urvalek, Josef 1910 births 1979 deaths Czech communists Czech jurists Czech prosecutors Politicide perpetrators People from České Budějovice Collaborators with the Soviet Union Political repression in Czechoslovakia Slánský trial Burials at Brno Central Cemetery

See also

References