Ilya Ripps, the Latvian Jewish student who set himself afire April 12, 1969, in protest against rejection of his emigration application, has received a visa for himself and his family and is expected here with them soon, it was authoritatively learned here today. Ripps was hospitalized for several months for treatment of his burns and was later sent to a mental asylum. He was released a few months ago, studied Hebrew at home and asked again for a visa. He is now around 23.
Meanwhile, it was also learned that Boris Kochubiyevsky, one of the first Soviet Jews to be tried for anti-Soviet slander after the Six-Day War, is on his way here. The 35-year-old engineer, who was released earlier this month after serving three years at hard labor, was headed today for Vienna with his wife and 2-year-old daughter.
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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.