March 15 will mark the fourth anniversary of the unjust imprisonment of Anatoly Shcharansky. I am appalled at the Soviet Unions continued violation of the basic human rights of this man. Shcharansky first applied for a visa to emigrate to Israel in 1973. He was denied a visa on the grounds that he held "classified information" in spite of the fact that he worked in an institute which was unclassified. Since that time. many other injustices have occurred and are still occurring. The day after his marriage. Shcharanskys wife Avital was forced to leave the Soviet Union. with the promise that her husband would soon follow. He did not. Because of his protesting of emigration restrictions. Shcharansky was closely watched. harassed. and arrested on numerous occasions. In 1978 he was charged with treason. espionage. and antiSoviet agitation and was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.
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emigrate emigration visa