About 100 Vilna Jews have been staging daily sit-ins at Lithuanian Communist Party headquarters since last Thursday to back up their demands for a meeting with officials of the Central Committee to discuss their emigration rights, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned today. The JTA was informed by the American Jewish Conference on Soviet Jewry that the Jews were promised on Sept. 30 that a five-member delegation would be received by today. but the meeting felled to materialize. The Jews arrive at Communist Party headquarters at 3 p.m. and remain until 6 p.m. So far police have taken no action against them, according to information received by Conference chairman Richard Maass.
The Conference also reported receiving telephone information from the Soviet Union today confirming that Boris Azernikov, a Jewish dentist will go on trial in mid-October for alleged anti-state activities, Azernikov has been linked by soviet authorities to a group of Jews in Leningrad who organized illegal Hebrew study groups and has also been called as a witness in political trials of Jews. He was arrested several times, most recently two months ago and is presently in jail. Azernikov has applied for and exit visa to emigrate to Israel. His trial may be held in Leningrad, the Conference said. Azernikov is believed to be the first Soviet Jew to be arrested solely for applying for immigration to Israel.
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