It is exactly 10 years since the infamous trials wrongly convicted Mendelevich and his codefendants for attempted hijacking of a Soviet airliner. His original 12year prison sentence was extended 3 years because of his desire to observe strict religious practices during his incarceration. The release of Iosef Mendelevich. together with a recent increase in the number of exit visas issued to Jews could be a tremendously hopeful sign for all those concerned with human rights in the Soviet Union. Although current emigration figures are nowhere near the 1979 levels when emigration reached nearly 51.000 for the year. the upward swing cannot go unnoticed. I believe- we must encourage the Soviet Union to continue the trend of the last 2 weeks by allowing even more Jews to leave. and by granting permission to the other prisoners of conscience to leave for the West. At a time when EastWest relations are poor. the Soviet Union is in a position to improve current tensions by improving its emigration record. In so doing. a new climate of conciliation could be created to improve EastWest relations on a host of important issues. I hope the Soviet Union will see fit to release the two others held in the Leningrad hijacking case.
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emigration visas