The American Jewish Conference on Soviet Jewry today announced news of the arrest of a Leningrad Jew, on the eve of his departure to Israel. According to Richard Maass, Conference chairman, Boris Azernikov, a 28-year-old dentist, was recently arrested but only after he had initiated the difficult process of obtaining an exit permit for Israel. Azernikov had already received the required affidavit from abroad, and had taken this to local authorities when he was arrested and charged under the provisions of Articles 70 and 72 of the code of the Russian Republic. The seriousness of this new arrest, Maass noted, is reflected in the fact that these provisions of the law cover penalties for alleged anti-Soviet propaganda and for so-called “anti-Soviet group activities.” Azernikov was already known to the authorities for he had been called as a witness in the recent trial of five Kishinev Jews, although his testimony was not used. He was also reportedly friendly with some of the defendants in a trial of Leningrad Jews. Maass pointed out that in both trials the defendants were found guilty in trials closed to the outside world, and they were sentenced to harsh prison terms in Moldavia. He expressed fear that Azernikov “may have fallen victim to a crackdown against Jews seeking to go to Israel” despite the fact that he had followed accepted Soviet administrative procedures in attempting to emigrate.
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.
