MOSCOW DRAMA ENDS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 92, 20 April 1933, Page 11

MOSCOW DRAMA ENDS

SENTENCED ENGINEERS

NO CHANCE OF APPEAL

EXCITEMENT IN COURT

(British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 19. Following is the Foreign Office summary of the proceedings at the last stage, of tho trial i;i Moscow. The Court reassembled at one o'clock this morning for delivery of the verdict. The verdict recalled the charges against all the accused in accordance •with, the indictment, and then the Court pronounced tho findings. These were divided into four sections—wrecking at Zlatoust, at Zucvka, at Ivanovo, and at the electrical stations at Mosenergo. CONVICTIONS RECORDED. Under the first heading Gusev and Sokolov were convicted of both wrecking and collecting secret information under MacDoriald's instructions, and of receiving bribes from him. Mac Donald was also convicted under the same heading, and was stated to have been acting under Thornton's instructions. Under the second* heading of the Court's findings Kotlyarevsky was convicted of machine wrecking, and of receiving bribes from Mac Donald. Under the third heading Lobanov, Lobede'v, and Nordwall were convicted of machine wrecking and of giving or receiving bribes. Zivert was also convicted of receiving bribes from Thornton for machine wrecking under tho same heading. Under the fourth heading the Court found that criminal acts were committed' at the electrical station at Zugres. . Sukharoutchkin, Zorin, an*d .Karaschonninikov were convicted of wrecking under Thornton's 'instructions and of receiving bribes from him. Thornton was convicted of organising machine wrecking through these men and elsewhere, through Mac Donald, Nordwall,'and Cushny, and of carrying on espionage through Mac Donald, Cushny, and others. ' • Monkhouse was convicted on tho grounds of complicity with Thornton's acts, and of bribery of Soviet citizens for concealing defects in tho Metro.Vickers machinery. Cushny's and Oloinik's convictions of wrecking and of providing Thornton with secret information were dealt with under the same heading. In conclusion Mme. Katusova was convicted of complicity in Thornton's activities, and of transmitting bribes from him for criminal purposes. SENTENCES IMPOSED. The Court then, stated that the sentences to follow would be based upon the provisions of tho decree of March 14, 1933, in virtue of which-"Soviet State employees,L convicted of wrecking, are subject to more severe penalties than employees of private enterprises." Three of the Russian accused) Gusev, Sukharoutchkin, and Lobanov, were sentenced to ten years' deprivation of liberty, with, the loss of civil rights fpr five years and confiscation of property. They were not condemned ...to be shot because their "criminal wrecking activity did not cause serious damage to Soviet industry." Sokolov, Borinand, and Kotlyairoyslty were sentenced on the same basis to eight years' deprivation of liberty with similar additional provisions. Karaschenninikov was sentenced on the same basis of liberty with loss of civil rights for five years-without confiscation of property. THE BRITISH PRISONERS. The list of employees of Metro. Tickers follows. Thornton was sentenced to three years' deprivation of liberty. In Mac Donald's case it was declared that since he was acting "on instructions of his immediate chief, Thornton, and in consideration of his honest confession," the measure of repression demanded by the law was in accordance with Article 51 of the Criminal Code, and he was limited to two years' deprivation of liberty. In Monkhouse's and Nordwall's cases, since "they did not take a direct share in machine wrecking at the elee: trical stations," and in Cushny's case, •' seeing that his crime was- committed as long ago as 1928," sentence was declared to be limited by the same article of the Criminal Code to -expulsion for five years, the expulsion to be .put into effect by the obligation of leaving Soviet territory within three days. . SENTENCING THE RUSSIAN PRISONERS. Oleinik and Kutusoya, "in consideration of their dependence on Thornton and the fact that they were employees of a privato firm," were sentenced to three_ years and one and a half years' deprivation of liberty respectively, in each case without the loss of civil rights and without confiscation of property. In the case of Zivert, in consideration of the fact that'since 1931 ho had shown he had'"broken with wreckers," It was stated "no measure of repression would be applied," and he would be liberated. . Gregory was declared acquitted on ground of "insufficiency of proofs." SENTENCES NOT SUBJECT TO - APPEAL. It was stated that tho sentences are not' subject to appeal. ■Monkhouse, Cushny, Gregory, and Nordwall are leaving the Soviet Union tomorrow evening. Nordwall will be accompanied by his wife, whose application for release from Soviet citizenship was granted today.