Soviet Jews Appeal to Brezhnev; Some Obtain Exit Visas

Isaac Shkolnik’s appeal against a ten-year prison sentence, scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court in Moscow today, has been postponed, Jewish sources in the Soviet Union reported. The official explanation was that the transcript of the case, tried in Vinnetsa, Ukraine last year, was not ready, the sources said. No new date for the hearing has been announced.

Shkolnik, a mechanic, was convicted of spying for Israel and disseminating anti-Soviet propaganda.

Anatoly Liebgrober, one of seven Jewish scientists who had been on a hunger strike in Moscow for the past nine days, has been promised a visa today by the Moscow ovir.

His colleagues, all of whom have been denied visas so far, disclosed that they had agreed among themselves beforehand that if any one of their number was granted a visa he would end his hunger strike immediately and prepare to leave for Israel. They wished Liebgrober well and said they would continue their strike.

LENINGRAD DEFENDANTS RELEASED

Lev and Michael Korenblit and Shlomo Dresner who were sentenced to three years imprisonment at the second Leningrad hijack trial in May, 1971, were released today, Jewish sources in the Soviet Union reported. It is assumed that time served in jail before they were sentenced was deducted from their terms.

Meanwhile, 144 Jews from Moscow, Leningrad and four other cities have appealed to Soviet Communist Party Secretary Leonid I, Brezhnev to free all of the Leningrad trial prisoners.

The appeal was made in a letter sent to Brezhnev before he left for the United States and was occasioned by the third anniversary of the first Leningrad trial which fell on June 15.

The letter noted that since the Leningrad defendants were sentenced nearly 60,000 Russian Jews have been permitted to emigrate. “This is an admission by the Soviet authorities that the desire to go to Israel is in a different category of human relationship,” it said.