Speech #980052577

I would like to take this opportunity to bring to the attention of my colleagues the plight of Simon Shnirman. my adopted Prisoner of Conscience in the Soviet Union. In 1977. Simon Shnirmans first application for emigration to Israel from the Soviet Union was denied on the pretext that he had not worked long enough to compensate for his State education. A year later. Shnirman was drafted by the Soviet army. Because he was seeking permission to emigrate. Shnirman refused to Join the mllitary. an action which led to his being sentenced. at the age of 20. to 2% years of prison on charges of draft evasion. Upon his release from a labor camp in November 1980. Simon Shnirman resumed his struggle for permission to emigrate. In the fall of 1982. as before. Shnirmans desire to leave the Soviet Union led to his refusal to serve in the Soviet army.