MOSCOW ARRESTS.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20829, 12 April 1933, Page 11

M OSCOW ARRESTS.

another white PAPERRELATIONS OF OGPU JUSTICE. PUSSY'S COMMUNICATIONS WITH LONDON. tnalß tucse ASSOCIATION' BY ELECTRIC (cniw> leohal , h _copyi.WHT.) (Received April 11, 7.10 p,m.) LONDON, April 11. toother twenty-page White Paper to been issued containing the disMtches of Sir Esmond Ovey, the British Ambassador at Moscow, aiid Mr W. Strang, Counsellor of 4j«g Embassy and Charge d Affaiies ijjice the Ambassador returned to London, to Sir John Simon. These cover the period from March 19 to April 4. ykare are astonishing revelations in the paper of the Ogpu methods of justice, under which accused men were examined igparately every day, sometimes tor 20 hours at a time. They were iold of alleged confessions of their friends and threatened with dire consequences if they did not themulves confess. The White Paper is also imjortont in that it indicates the charges on which the Ogpu is Ifltely to rely in Wednesday's trial. Jfr Alan Monkhouse, for instance, vaa shown a signed statement in Mr W. H. Thornton's handwriting, admitting having made many small presents and monetary payments in flie last ten years. The items were trifling, being for clothes and yjmilar gifts to Russian engineers and technicians. These gifts are bow being used to bolster the charges of inciting to sabotage and espionage. Mr Monkhouse's imjOTttion is that the alleged sabot,age was at Zlatovsk. Russian's Statement. One accusation against Mr C. Nordwall is that he was spending money for wrecking purposes. He was confronted with Mr Labanoff, • Buttian engineer who had obtiowly been brought from prison, nd vho, in Mr Nordwall's presence, fiwfesied that he had received sums at 1000 and 3000 roubles for wrecking activities, and admitted that he had actually been engaged in wrecking. Mr Nordwall replied that Mr Labanoff's statement was Itfliasxic. The latter added that he was instructed not to wreck plant Bade by Metropolitari-Vickers, U&i but to devote his attention to tint of other companies in the Insova district. Mr Nordwall denied this. As an example of Ogpu methods, fib* Esmond Ovey quotes the story of a Russian woman, who was instructed to persuade Mr Monkfease to undertake secret work, but refused. Mr J. Cushny last October was approached and asked to tadertake secret work, unknown to ii» firm, in the supply of electrical Slant for Soviet power stations, biisrog offered 250 dollars a month. Mr Cushny refused, fiifi strangest revelations refer to Mr Thornton, who was born in Bujste, and who, generous by issiure, may possibly have been in<Bweet in helping Russians. ,Mr Strang describes Mr Thornitm m worn out, having been interrogated every day since his srest on one occasion for 20 hours *iflwut a break. He was confronts with Mr Macdonald, a fellow Pfesnsr, who accused Mr Thornfeo ol engaging in military and «®K>mlc spying. Mr Thornton that when his amazement Wpa to embarrass Mr Macdonald, Be examiners made them sit back te back. Mr Macdonald, he says, "looked awful."

Bribery Alleged. One Gustav, a friend of Mr Macwjßald, made similar statem<" ts confronted with Mr Thornsaying that the latter had been Vm 10,000 roubles for espionage F&pcses. Until Mr Thornton was gteaietl Sir Esmond Ovey, Mr and Mr Monkhouse believed he had written long and extraordinary statements covering gfcally every activity of the Satjjopolitan-Vickers Company dura, decade. They presumed •fist the severe gruelling had re®tKea him to a state of mental fP™y. Mr Strang even suggested ? Sir John Simon that Mr Thornhad broken down and had e ® false confession under the forms of Ogpu presr~®» Particularly the threat of exI™ 3 ®?® Kutosova, who was secrei* « company. Strug's last cable after he had Mr T! ornton, however, reveals d ® sf? 0 * state of affairs. For two his examiners tried to make fr® admit that he had received from the British Consulate, J® a member of the IntelliService. He was then told aA 1 Madame Kutosova had testi«Z?L ® this. She confronted him, y*®Cßtly in a pitiable state of terror, Ut accusations against inr -* rn i° n ' n a manner suggest- | mat she was acting under comhaving been broken by the *%tj eats a ' D °ut treatment of her

Isieraational Plot Suggested. jfJfWdiiig to the White Paper Mr ®wpouse believes it will be sug-HW-that Mr G. T. Richards, now ~d' who was a director of the Company, in ar ® e °* the firm's Russian tjZ was working in conjunc- • an intei-national group to fiaS-u : 4^ u strial developments in 15®,t Public Prosecutor (M. on several occasions that Mr Richards was in r isntish Secret Service. tiJ£ Kkhards has issued a denial of •5 legations. #7taS?* ges t that either lor any of jmSl, * n the MetropolitanCompany were working iff"* 1 the interests of the Soviet, jZj? ®y sabotage or any other Ega » no less fantastic than the ISJfH? 11 that I am in the British a£L. ; service. I deny both comipfW he said.