The New York State Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for the release of Amner Zavurov, the newest Soviet Jewish Prisoner of Conscience. The resolution, sponsored by Senator Albert Lewis, was passed Feb. 9, two days prior to Zavurov’s appeal of his three-year sentence on a variety of charges. Despite the resolution and massive protests from around the world, Soviet authorities rejected Zavurov’s appeal and upheld his three-year sentence.
Passage of the resolution was conducted with the assistance of the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry. The measure noted several violations of Soviet and international law, including denying the Zavurov family the right to emigrate and denying the defendant the right to counsel of his choice as guaranteed under the Soviet Code of Criminal Procedure.
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.
