Boris Begun, son of freed Prisoner of Conscience Iosif Begun, was nabbed by Soviet police Monday after demonstrating in downtown Moscow for the freedom of other refuseniks, according to the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (SSSJ). Begun was detained along with Ella and Theodore Finkel, brother and sister refuseniks.
Boris Begun was threatened with a 15-day jail sentence last month for demonstrating on behalf of his father, who was then in prison. At the last minute, the Soviet authorities changed their tactics and refrained from incarcerating the younger Begun, and freed Iosif Begun from Chistopol Prison.
Their demonstration Monday was the first in a series this week of protests in the Soviet capital against the denial of exit visas. Others who have publicly declared that they will demonstrate this week are Michael Fuchs-Rabinovitch and Leonid Yusefovitch of Moscow, and Michael Baizer of Leningrad, who will go to Moscow to protest.
Meanwhile, a hunger strike continues in Moscow by former POC Lev Elbert of Kiev, who began his action March 5.
Women will demonstrate in Moscow at the national OVIR office on March 27 and 29, including many of the women who last week were on a hunger strike. The women’s demonstrations are planned to coincide with the visit of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
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.
