The U.S. affiliate of Amnesty International appealed today to Soviet Premier Alexsei Kosygin to cancel the trials of Jews in the Soviet Union and to exercise clemency in the cases of Jews already convicted in Leningrad. In a letter to Kosygin, Amnesty’s U.S. chairman, Mark K. Benenson stated “Surely the USSR is strong enough to permit those who wish to leave to go.” Amnesty International, with headquarters in London, is a private organization that assists non-violent political and religious prisoners throughout the world. Benenson’s letter to Kosygin added: “We are saddened by reports of the newest convictions of Jews in Leningrad and the further trials in Kishinev and Riga. The censored press reports suggest that the trials represent gross violations of human rights. Just as Amnesty protests the oppression of socialists and communists imprisoned in other countries, so must we defend and ask justice for citizens of the USSR…” (Earlier this week it was reported that the Kishinev trial has been postponed. No new date or reason for postponement was given.)
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.
