Some individuals in prisons. such as Leonid Lubman and Mikhail Kazachov are imprisoned for crimes that today would not even warrant arrest and questioning. These cases must be reviewed in light of President Gorbachevs policy of perestroika if the Soviet Union is to show it is truly committed to reform. There is another side to the story of Soviet Jewish emigration as well. Mr. President. As you know. some 80.000 Jews have left the Soviet Union since Mikhail Gorbachev came to power. The pace of Soviet Jewish emigration has almost reached that during the days of United StatesSoviet detente under former leader Leonid Brezhnev. The rest of the story is that there continue to be hundreds of longterm refuseniks whose cases still languish. 10. 12. even 15 years after first applying to emigrate. There are 140 remaining longterm refusenik cases who have already received refugee status from I.N.S. In Moscow and who will be permitted immediate entry when they receive permission from the Soviet Government. These Soviet Jews are still denied permission to emigrate for reasons of "State secrets." The real secret. Mr. President. is that there are no state secrets held by these individuals.
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emigrate emigration refugee