A number of Czechoslovakian Jews living in Israel since 1968 have received notification from Czechoslovakian authorities that criminal proceedings have been started against them for “illegal sojourn abroad.” The Jews who received these notices fled Czechoslovakia after the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion and occupation of that country in the summer of 1968, according to a spokesman for the Council of Jews from Czechoslovakia here. Similar notices of criminal proceedings have been received previously by Czech refugees in the United States, Canada and several West European countries. They emanate from the “legal chambers” in the refugees’ last place of residence in Czechoslovakia. These notices and those served on Czeche in Israel are accompanied by a demand for legal fees for “defense counsel” to be paid in foreign currency. The fee amounts to about $134. The notices intimate that if the payment is not made, relatives of the refugees in Czechoslovakia might be approached for the money, the spokesman said. Several hundred Czech Jews settled in Israel after the 1968 invasion of their homeland. The number who have received notification of legal proceedings against them is not known. The notifications have been routed to Israel via the Czech Consulate in Nicosia, Cyprus, Israel and Czechoslovakia have had no diplomatic relations since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
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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.
