THREE MOSCOW JEWS ARRESTED

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33355, 13 October 1973, Page 15

THREE MOSCOW JEWS ARRESTED

(N.Z.P. A.-Reuter—Copyright) MOSCOW, October 12. Three leading figures in the Jewish protest movement were arrested in their Moscow homes yesterday, Jewish sources have said.

Those arrested were a retired chemistry professor, David Azbel, aged 62; Vitaly Rubin, a sinologist; and a journalist, Veniamin Gorokhov, aged 50, the sources said.

News of the arrests came only three hours after a group of foreign correspondents who went to visit Professor Azbel in his suburban flat were told by plainclothes policemen that they could not enter “because a crime is being investigated.” The police would give no

details of their investigation. Three days ago. Professor Azbel and Mr Gorokhov were among 66 Soviet Jewish activists who signed a message of support to the people of Israel, but it was not clear if their arrest was connected with that.

The three arrested men have been seeking permission to leave the Soviet Union for Israel, but have been refused exit visas. Professor Azbel spent 16 years in labour camos in the 1940 s and earlv 19505.

In another development, Jewish sources said that nine teen-age Jews were beaten up after attending a service in the central synagogue in Moscow, and alleged that passing policemen made no effort to intervene.