Mordechai Oren, the one-time Mapam leader who was jailed in Communist Czechoslovakia 10 years ago during a visit there, will be rehabilitated by the Czech Government, it was reported here this weekend.
The Israeli Communist newspaper, Kol Haam, said that Czech authorities had received a plea from the party in Israel asking for a review of the case. The charges against Oren grew out of the trial of Ridolf Siansky, first Secretary of the Communist party in Czechoslovakia. Slansky was tried and hanged in 1952 along with other Communist functionaries on charges of “Zionism,” “Titoism, ” espionage and sabotage.
The newspaper reported that all the charges against Mr. Oren had been reviewed and that they would be dropped. The report was confirmed by Milan Jurza, Czech charge d’affaires in Israel, who said the Czechoslovak Supreme Court had decided to clear Mr. Oren of all charges.
Mr. Oren, who was freed after serving three years and who returned to Israel, had admitted he was a British intelligence agent but later said he had been forced to make a false confession. Arrested in Prague in 1951, he was a key witness in the Slansky trial.
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.
