Rather. as one observer noted. his crime lay in the fact that Shcharansky "spoke the truth and he spoke it in English." Shcharansky was a founding member of the Moscow Helsinki group and quickly became its spokesman. He was also one of the most dedicated defenders of human rights in the Soviet Union. It is clear that he risked his own life and his prospects for emigrating to Israel to speak out on behalf of those in the Soviet Union who could not speak for themselves. The unique thing about him nowand I speak as a lawyeris that his one persistent goal was to insure that the Soviet Union abided not by some other laws. but by its own laws and its commitments under international law. such as the Helsinki Agreement. Just to abide by its own lawsthat is all he asked. and that is all the Helsinki group sought. because those laws. in context. provide the kind of rights which would allow Shcharansky to be out on the streets as a free man. equally free with any other Soviet citizen.
Keywords matched
emigrating