The Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry reported that activist losif Begun who returned to Moscow two weeks ago after a year’s exile in eastern Siberia, has been threatened with re-arrest and possible further imprisonment.
Begun, dismissed from his job when he applied for an exit visa in 1971, was subsequently arrested on charges of “parasitism” and after spending some time in jail, was sentenced to two years in exile at Magadan near the Chinese border.
In consideration of the time he spent in jail before his trial he was allowed to return home after one year. Genya Intrator, a spokesperson for the committee, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that she learned of the new threat to Begun’s freedom in a telephone conversation with him from Moscow.
He told her that he had been notified by the authorities last week that his right of residence in Moscow had been cancelled and he must leave the city within 72 hours. He said the cancellation was based on Art. 209 of the Soviet penal code which deprives persons convicted of parasitism of the right to live in their cities.
The article, according to Begun, does not appear in writing but is referred to orally by the authorities; failure to comply could result in his arrest and new charges brought against him. Begun said he sent a telegram to the Central Committee of the Communist Party asking for a temporary extension of his residency privilege so that he can spend time with his family after a year’s absence.
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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.
