Sentences imposed by French courts, under Vichy legislation establishing racial discriminations and punishing acts of resistance, will be annulled, according to an ordinance signed by Gen. De Gaulle and published by the Ministry of Justice today. These laws had previously been declared null and void by the provisional Government.
Under the terms of the ordinance, persons convicted by Vichy courts for acts of resistance or for violation of discriminatory laws, such as failure by a Jew to declare himself as such, have six months in which to ask the court to reverse their sentences. The costs of these appeals will be borne by the state.
Convictions will be expunged from the record and fines will be returned. property seized as part of a penalty will be restored, or, if sold, the purchase price will be paid the defendants. Other penalties and sanctions imposed as part of the punishment will also be reversed.
The charge that a fifth column is conducting anti-Semitic activities in the Paris area is made today in the newspaper Liberte.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
