Mrs. Shpilberg Confirms Ruth is Ill; Zand Tells Caller His Health ‘not So Good’

In a telephone conversation with Margarita Shpilberg in Riga, wife of Arkady Shpilberg who was sentenced last Thursday by a Riga court to three years in prison, it was confirmed Saturday night that Ruth Aleksandrovich is in extremely poor health suffering from asthma and a kidney ailment. The call, conducted by Zev Yaroslavsky, chairman of the California Students for Soviet Jewry, lasted more than 10 minutes. Mrs. Shpilberg confirmed reports that the time spent by Miss Aleksandrovich in prison since last Oct. would be deducted from the one year sentence handed down by the same court last week. The two other Jewish defendants sentenced were Mikhail Shepshelovich for two years, and Boris Maftsier for one year. The seven months Maftsier spent in prison prior to his trial is also expected to be deducted from his sentence. During her telephone conversation, Mrs.Shpilberg said, “We want to go to Israel. All the defendants were innocent and now one of them suffers from poor health.” When asked if she had anything to tell the world she replied, “Let us go home.”

Minutes after that call, radio station KABC, an American Broadcasting Company affiliate, placed a telephone call to Prof. Michael Zand, in Moscow. The call placed by newscaster Ray Briem and also organized by the student group was cut short after Moscow operators apparently felt that the call had become too political. Briem had asked Dr. Zand two innocuous questions and then asked whether he had received an exit visa in recent days. At that point the ABC broadcaster could no longer hear Dr. Zand. The operator in Moscow stated, “Zand could not hear California. He refused to speak on such a poor line. And he left the house for a walk,” Before the call was put on the air, Yaroslavsky asked Dr. Zand how his health was. Dr. Zand replied: “Not bad, but not so good either.” Yaroslavsky called the disconnection intentional, ridiculous and fraudulent.