After serving a three-year sentence in Stantsi Vydrino labor camp for allegedly “defaming the Soviet state,” Aleksandr Paritsky was released, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry reported today. Paritsky, 46, was arrested on August 28, 1981, after a long campaign of KGB harassment culminated in the search of his home in Kharkov.
Prior to his arrest, Paritsky’s academic title, Kandidat of Technical Sciences, was rescinded by the Soviets because of his alleged “anti-patriotic activity, “marking the first time such action was taken against a scientist for his desire to emigrate to Israel. Upon his release, Paritsky returned home to his wife, Polina, in Kharkov.
In Moscow, refusenik Aleksandr Yakir, recently convicted on charges of alleged “draft-evasion,” has been transferred from Butyrka Prison to another prison within the city, pending his appeal. After receiving the official transcript and verdict on August 28, Yakir’s attorney has until September 10 in which to file an appeal.
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