WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's president has vetoed a bill that would have made it possible for authorities to strip communist-era officers of their ranks.

Andrzej Duda said Friday the bill was not just because it did not offer any possibility for those demoted to defend themselves.

The bill had allowed for communist-era generals and other high-ranking officers to be demoted to the rank of privates for their roles in the Moscow-imposed regime that lasted from 1944-1990 and in the repressive crackdown imposed by communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski in 1981 that killed around 100 dissidents.

Supporters see the law as an act of justice, but opponents describe it as vengeful. Recent polls showed it was not popular.