Moshe Mendelevich, whose son, Josef, is serving a 12-year prison sentence imposed in the 1970 Leningrad hijack trial, may be forcibly ousted tomorrow from the Soviet Union. Jewish sources in the Soviet Union reported today. In a telephone call to friends here the sources confirmed an earlier report that Mendelevich was told by Soviet authorities that his citizenship has been revoked and that he must be out of the country by May 24.
The Mendelevich family applied for exist visas in 1969. But following Josef’s arrest and imprisonment his father declared that he would not leave the Soviet Union as long as his son was in jail. Mendelevich is permitted to visit his son four times a year.
Last month he was summoned to the visa bureau in Riga and told that his visa application had been approved and was given until May 24 to leave. He was told that if he doesn’t leave he would be placed aboard a plane. The sources said he was called to the visa bureau again yesterday and told he had 48 hours to depart Russia. They said that Mendelevich suffers from a heart condition which could prove fatal if force is used against him.
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.
