Kim Fridman of Kiev, who has long been active in the Jewish emigration and culture movement in the Soviet Union, has been sentenced to one year imprisonment in a labor camp, it was reported here today by Soviet Jewry groups. Fridman, 47, was tried on May 18 on charges of “parasitism.”
According to the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, Fridman, who suffers from heart disease, has been held in Kiev’s Lukianovka Prison since March 28. His mother was not allowed to be present at the trial but was allowed into the courtroom only to hear the sentence being read. The Conference said his mother reportedly intends to appeal the sentence.
The Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry said Fridman first applied to emigrate to Israel in 1972 but Soviet authorities denied his request on grounds that he had been employed as a radio technician at the Kiev Radio Plant, where classified documents had been circulated. Since his first request, Fridman has repeatedly applied for an exit visa. All his applications have been denied. His wife, Genrietta, and their daughter, Victoria, arrived in Israel in 1976. Since then they have campaigned vigorously to secure his release, the New York Conference reported.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
