Speech #980166640

I am sorry to say that the Soviet authorities have failed to respond to the efforts that I and many others have made on Anatoly Shcharanskys behalf. and they continue to incarcerate him under inhumane conditions. Another wellknown case is that of Dr. Alexander Paritsky. a leader of the Jewish community in Kharkov who was imprisoned in 1977 after applying for permission to emigrate with his family. The harsh conditions to which Dr. Parltsky has been subjected in a Siberian labor camp have taken a heavy toll on his health. In 1981 I introduced a resolution in the Senate which called upon the President and the Secretary of State to press the Soviets to release Dr. Paritsky and grant him and his family their right to emigrate. Another prominent Jewish activistYosef Begun. a mathematician and Hebrew teacherapplied for permission to emigrate to Israel in 1971 and was refused. In the years that followed. his efforts on behalf of the rights of Jews in the U.S.S.R led the authorities to subject him to threats. shadowing. arrest. and internal exile. After his third arrest. he was sentenced last October to 7 years in a hardlabor camp. to be followed by 5 years in internal exile.