The trial of two Soviet Jews, accused of being members of a group which committed “economic crimes” by “exploiting mental patients” to produce knitwear which yielded an “illegal profit” of about $2,500,000 has been going on secretly for about two weeks, although it was previously indicated in the Soviet press that the accused will be put on a “show trial,” it was learned here today from Moscow.
No correspondents representing the Western press are admitted to the trial which is expected to last about a month, the report from Moscow said. The two Jews had been identified by the Moscow newspaper Izvestia as Roifman and Shakerman, without giving their first names.
When the men were arrested, last October, Izvestia pointed out it was mentioning the “Jewish names” of the suspects “because we do not pay attention to malicious slanders aroused in the Western press from time to time. Being tried are criminals–not Jews, Russians, Tartars or Ukrainians.”
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.
