The trials of two Russian Jews, both of whom had applied for exit visas and were rejected, were reported by Jewish sources in the Soviet Union today. The trial of Isaac Shkolnik, charged with spying for Israel, continued today in a courtroom set up in a brick factory in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, under circumstances suggesting a secret trial. All outsiders, including members of Shkolnik’s family, are barred from the courtroom. It was learned that 46 witnesses have been called, with some instructed to appear on April 10, meaning that a verdict is unlikely before April 12 at the earliest.
In Leningrad, a trial was opened against Nikolai Yavor, a mathematician and Jewish activist on charges of a misdemeanor for which the usual punishment is one year in a forced labor camp, the sources reported. Yavor and his wife, a geologist, were asked to pay $14,000 for exit visas at the end of 1972 but were unable to raise the money. Yavor lost his job and a few weeks later was sentenced to a 10-day jail term for being “drunk and disorderly.” The sources said that Yavor does not drink.
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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.
