Captain Pagolitis of the Greek steamship Assimi was sentenced today to nine months’ imprisonment and a fine of L100 by the District Court for attempting to land Jewish refugees without immigration permits on Palestine’s coast. The judge declared that the first mate would be able to take charge if the 350-ton vessel, now lying in Haifa harbor under police detention with 400 refugees aboard, was ordered to sea.
Isaac Ben-Zvi, president of the Jewish National Council of Palestine, demanded of Sidney Moody, Assistant Chief Secretary of the Palestine Government, that the refugees, who are held incommunicado on the ship, be permitted to land because of the overcrowding and lack of sanitary facilities on board. The Assimi was captured by a Coast Guard patrol on April 11 with 240 refugees aboard. Last Monday, another Greek steamship arrived with 160 refugees, which was also captured. Yesterday, the 160 were transferred to the Assimi by order of the authorities.
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.
