The 150 prospective jurors for a trial of two Soviet citizens charged with buying U.S. military secrets were asked yesterday to fill out a 22-page questionnaire on their feelings toward Communism and the Soviet Union which included questions on Soviet Jewry.
There were three questions on Soviet Jewry among the 135 questions and they were asked specifically of Jews among the potential jurors. They were asked whether they believed the Soviet Union repressed Jews, whether they believed Soviet citizens were hostile to the Jewish religion and if they felt they might be trying to “get even” with the Soviets.
The potential jurors, who will also be interviewed privately in court, were also asked whether they or any of their relatives were born in a country now controlled by a Communist government.
The defendants, Valdik Enger, 39, a political affairs officer at the United Nations, and Rudolf Chemyayev,43, a personnel officer at the UN, were charged with paying $20,000 to a U.S. Naval officer to provide them with anti-submarine plans and other military secrets. The FBI has described the American officer as a “double agent.”
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