A number of defendants in the famous Slansky trial which triggered anti-Jewish arrests and purges in various Communist countries four years ago have been released with little fanfare, it was reported here today from Prague. Among the charges against Rudolf Slansky, one-time head of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, was that he had cooperated with Zionists in an alleged imperialist plot against Czechoslovakia. Mr. Slansky, a Jew, and ten other defendants were hanged in 1952.
The report listed a number of persons who had been released from prison including the following Jews: Arthur London, former Deputy Foreign Minister; Evzen Loebel, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade; Dr. Eduard Goldsteucker, one-time Ambassador to Israel, and Laco Novemesky, a Slovak Communist leader. There was no mention of Mordecai Oren, Israeli Mapam leader, who was arrested in Prague, implicated in the so-called plot and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
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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.