Speech #980197749

Meiman permission to leave the country. The current plight of the Meimans is only the most recent manifestation of the years of suffering this family has experienced at the hands of the Soviet officials. Their problems began in 1975 when Professor Meiman first applied to emigrate to Israel. This attempt and all subsequent requests have been refused on the ground that Professor Meiman was involved in secret work during his 20year employment at the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Counterarguments that his research was in abstract mathematics and had been published in public reports were ignored by Soviet authorities. Because of their attempts to emigrate. the Meimans have been subjected to continuous harassment. They have had to cope with a range of reprisals including separation from their only child who now resides in the United States. interference with their telephone service. interception of mail. denial of access to the medical facilities open to employees of the Academy of Sciences. apartment searches and confiscation of Professor Meimans personal and scientific papers. lengthy interrogations and threats of further retaliation for his human rights activities. Now. as Inna Kistrosskayas condition worsens. mounting concern is being translated into appeals to Soviet authorities from diverse quarters.