SOVIET CHARGES

Hokitika Guardian, 12 April 1933, Page 5

SOVIET CHARGES

BRITISH; REVIEW

GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER,

(United Press A isociation—By Electric 1 €>legraph—Dopyrigh t.)

LONDON, April 11

Another. twenty page white paper has been foy the Government regarding the Moscow arrests, giving despatches that were sent by Sir Esmond Ovey and Mr Strang (counsellor) from, the British embassy at Moscow, to the-British-Foreign, Minister, Sir John Simon. The period covered by these despatches is that from March 19 to April 7. There is' an astonishing revelation of the O.G.P.U. methods of justice, under which the various accused men were examined separately, daily and sometimes for twenty hours. The accused were told of the alleged confession of' their friends, and were threatened with dire consequences if they did not similarly confess. The white' paper is also important in dnditiating the charges on; which the O.G.P.U. are likely to rely at Wednesday’s trial. . ... ;ri' ' -

Thus, the prisoner Monkhonse was shoWii. a signed statement in 'Tlior ton’s handwriting admitting that a long list of small presents and monetary, payment's had been' made to him over the past decade. ; ; ;The items were trifling ones, being for vclothes etc., that, were given to Russian engineers and'technicians. These gifts are now being used to bolster the charges of inciting to (sabotage and espionage. Monkhouse’s impression is that ,■ the alleged .sabotage occurrences were -at Zlatovsk. , -

A feature of the accusation, brought, against the prisoner Nordwell is that he has .be.cn spending money for wrecking purposes. He was confronted' ‘by Labanofij, a Russian engineer, who had obviously been brought, from prison,. and who in .Nor'dwell’is , ' pi(esenceconfessed that he had received sums of two thousand and of three-thou-sand roubles for wrecking, activities and he also -admitted that he was actually .engaged in the wrecking. -■ Nordwell replied that LabanofFs statement was. fantastic. •, ..... Labonoff added that lie was instructed ’not 'to wreck the Metro Vickers Company’s plant, but to devote his attention to* other companies’ plants, in the Ivanova district. ' ' Nordwell denied this. ;

; As an example, of the O.G.P.U. methods, Sir Esmond quotes the story of a Russian woman, who'was''instructed to persuade Monkhonse to undertake secret work.' The woman refused. Another example of the O.G.P.U. methods is that ' the aCctisfid CushnJ', in October last,"' was approached tod was asked to undertake secret work tin* known to his'Arm -in connection with the supply of electrical plant for Soviet power stations, he being offered 250 dollars per month. Cushny refused. The strangest revelations refer ' to Thornton, who wag born in Russia, and is generous by nature. He may, pos.ibly, have been indiscreet, in helping . Russians. Mr Strang describes Thornton as. worn out, having been interrogated daily since his arrest, and on one occasion for twenty hours without a break. He was confronted by MacDonald, a fellow prisoner, who accused Thornton of engaging in military, and economic spying. Thornton says that when his amazement began to embarrass MacDonald, the examiners made Thornton sit with 'lujs hack to MacDonald, who “looked awful.”

Custav, a'friend of MacDonald, made similar statements when he was confronted with Thornton, staying that the latter had been paid ten thousand roubles for espionage purposes. Until Thornton' had been released, the Ambassador, Mr Strang and Monkhouse believed that ,he had written extraordinary lengthy statements, covering practically every activity of Vickers , Coy. during decade. They presumed that severe gruelling had reduced Thornton to-mental apathy. Mr Strang even suggested to Sir John Simon that Thornton had broken down and had made a false confession under well-known forms of O.G.P.U. pressure, and particularly a threat of the exposure of his alleged relations with Madame Kutosova, who is Secretary of the Company. Mr Strang’s last cable, after be had seen Thornton, however, reveals a different state of affairs. For two days, Thornton’s examiner* had tried to make him admit that he had received money from the British Consulate, and that he was a member of the intelligence service. He was then told that Madame Kutosova had testified to this effect. She confronted him, being evidently ’in -a pitiable state of terror and she reeled off accusation,-; against Thornton in a manner suggesting that she was acting under compulsion, after having been broken by usual threats regarding relatives.

WHITE PAPER IS “AMAZING.”

TANGLE OF LIES REVEALED.

LONDON, April 11

“Amazing” is the mrst-r.'sod adjective' in connection with the White L Paper. ® The “Daily Express” says: “The White Paper shows a tangle of lies, and third degree methods in which the Soviet authorities sought to enmesh the arrested British engineers. Even the small section of the -press which has been critical of the Government’,s handling of tho affair is ob-