Confirmation of the arrests in Moscow of Jewish activist Leonid Tsypin, plus the arrest of Aleksander Slepak, were reported today by Jewish sources in the Russian capital, Slepak–whose father, Vladimir, was arrested earlier–and Tsypin were held after asking permission to demonstrate at the Kremlin Plaza. They bring to 10 the number of Jewish activists arrested in Moscow in recent days, apparently in conjunction with President Nixon’s visit.
According to the report, Aleksander Slepak went to the KGB (secret police) yesterday to ask permission for a demonstration, but Col. Yaroslav Karpov, head of the Jewish section, turned him down. When Slepak asked for a written rejection, Karpov reportedly told him: “We are no bureaucrats.” Slepak reportedly replied that he therefore considered that he had the right to demonstrate.
Karpov warned him he could be arrested and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for “anti-Soviet activity.” Slepak left and called another Jew from a public telephone, after which he was arrested, the sources said. Tsypin, they said, was arrested at home while calling the same third Jew. who was not identified. Aleksander Slepak and Tsypin, both 21, were earlier called up for active Army service but were rejected for health reasons.
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