Ruth Wears Star of David on Prison Uniform; Removed to ‘far Away’ Prison

Ruth Aleksandrovich fashioned a Star of David from pajama threads and affixed it to her prison uniform, Jewish sources in Riga reported this weekend. It is not known how long Miss Aleksandrovich, who is completing a one-year sentence in a “strict regime” prison camp for alleged anti-Soviet activities, was permitted to wear the star. Earlier in the week. Mrs. Rivka Aleksandrovich, Ruth’s mother, telephoned her husband in Riga who told her that he had been notified that their daughter was to be moved to a prison “far away because in all of Latvia there is no prison strict enough for such a political prisoner.” Mrs. Aleksandrovich placed the call from Chicago where she had just finished addressing a joint meeting of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Welfare Fund. During her address, Mrs. Aleksandrovich made an impassioned plea for American Jewry to speak out in aid and support of persecuted Soviet Jewry.

Meanwhile, Jewish sources in Riga confirmed that Miss Aleksandrovich continues to be in poor health and is being denied medical attention. Glenn Richter, national coordinator of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry in New York, said denial of medical care to political prisoners was a continuing Soviet practice. He said the SSSJ was asking American physicians to protest Miss Aleksandrovich’s reported treatment to the Soviet authorities. It was also learned from Jewish sources in Riga that Miss Aleksandrovich’s father was to have a meeting with her on Friday. It could not, however, be immediately ascertained whether or not this meeting occurred. She has not seen any member of her family since she was arrested last Oct. Miss Aleksandrovich’s father has reportedly appealed to the Supreme Soviet to commute her sentence because of her ill health. She was sentenced to a one-year term in prison on May 27 and has four months to serve. According to sources the Supreme Soviet has promised to review her case within a few weeks.