Warsaw - Former Polish leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski went on trial Friday charged with communist-era crimes in the 1981 martial-law crackdown aimed at breaking the Solidarity trade union.

Prosecutors allege that by imposing martial law, Jaruzelski, 84, led a "criminal armed organization" with the aim of depriving Poles of their freedom, the PAP news agency reported.

Seven other former communist party and military officials are also in the dock at the Warsaw trial, launched after much legal wrangling.

Thousands of Solidarity activists and other dissidents were jailed in the December 1981 crackdown and up to 100 people died.

Jaruzelski could face 10 years in prison if found guilty of directing the suppression. He denies committing any crime.

A Polish court in June quashed earlier rulings for new evidence in Jaruzelski's trial, including calls for additional documents from Russian archives and interviews with leaders, including former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.

Jaruzelski claims martial law was necessary to avoid a Soviet invasion, and that his decision saved Poland from a national catastrophe.

No martial law-era Polish leaders have been convicted of communist crimes. Jaruzelski was tried in 2001 for a 1970s massacre in the Gdansk shipyards, but the proceedings petered out after he claimed health problems. (dpa)