CONVICTION DETAILS

Northern Advocate, 20 April 1933, Page 5

CONVICTION DETAILS

BASED ON INDICTMENTS WRECKING AND BRIBING. FOUR SECTIONS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received 2.30 p.m.) RUGBY, April 19. Russian imports info Britain last year totalled just under £20,000,000, over 30 per cent, of Russia’s total exports to all countries. Britain’s exports to Russia were about £10,."00,000. Of last year’s imports, the chief commodities on -which the embargo will be placed were:— Petroleum, £2,200,000; raw cotton, £390,000; butter, £1,233,000; grain, £1,005,000; and timber. £5,853,000.

Metropolitan Vickers eon firm the statement that, the .sums duo In (late from the Soviet Government have been paid. The findings of tlio court wore divided into four sections, namely, wrecking at Zlatoust, at Zuevka, at Ivanovo and at the elpctrieal stations at MoSoiiegro. Under the first beading, Gusev anTl Sokolov were'convicted both of wrecking and collecting secret information under Mr MacDonald’s instruction, and receiving bribes from him. Mr MacDonald was also convicted under the same heading, and was stated to have been acting under Mr Thornton’s instructions. Under the second heading, Kotlyarevsky was convicted of machine wrecking and receiving bribes from'Mr MacDonald. Harder On Russians. The verdict stated that the sentences would be based on the provisions of the decree of March. 14, stating: “Soviet State employees convicted of wrecking are subject to more severe penalties than employees of private, enterprises.”

Gusev, Sukharontehkin and Lobanov were sentenced to ten years’ deprivation of liberty with the loss of civil rights for live years and confiscation of their property. They were not condemned to bo shot because ‘'criminal wrecking activities did not cause serious damage to the Soviet industry.” Sokolov, Zorin and Kotlyarevsky were sentenced, on the same basis, to eight, years’ deprivation of liberty with similar additional provisions, and Karaschenninikov was sentenced on the same basis to five years’ deprivation of liberty with loss of civil rights for five years without confiscation, of ■property, because he only was a tool in the hands o*f Lobanov.

Lebedev was sentenced to two years’ deprivation of liberty without the loss of civil rights and without confiscation of property.

Lebedev and Mr Nordwall were convicted of machine wrecking and giving or receiving bribes. Zivert was also convicted of receiving bribes from Mr Thornton for machine wrecking under the same heading. Alleged Instructions. Under , the fourth heading Sukharoutchkin, Zorin and Karaschenninikov were convicted of wrecking under Mr Thornton’s instructions and receiving bribes from him.

Mr Thornton \yas convicted of organising machine-wrecking through these men and elsewhere, through Mr MacDonald., Mr Nbrdwall and Mr Cushny, and carrying on espionage through Mr MacDonald, Mr Cushny and others.

Mr Monkhouse was convicted on tho grounds of complicity with Mr Thornton’s act and of bribery of Soviet citizens for concealing defects in Vickers machinery.

Mr Cushny and Oleinik’s convictions of wrecking and providing Mr Thornton with secret information were dealt with under the same heading. Madame Kutosova was dealt with under the same heading. She was convicted of complicity in Mr Thornton’s activities, and of. transmitting bribes fromchim for cnminal purposes, i • ■ ’' the Vickers Employees. The list of the employees of, the Metropolitan Vickers was as follows: — Mr. Thornton was sentenced to three years’ deprivation of liberty. In Mr. MacDonald’s case it was declared that, since he was acting “on the instructions of his immediate chief, Mr. Thornton, and in consideration of his honest confession,” the measure of repression demanded by law was limited to two years’ deprivation of liberty.

In Mr. Monkhouse’s and Mr. NordwaJl’s cases, since "they did not take a direct share in machine wrecking; at the electrical stations,” and in Mr. Cnshny’s case, "since his crime was committed as long ago as .1920,” sentence was declared to bo limited to expulsion for five years.

Oleinik and Madame Kutosova, "in consideration of their dependence on Mr. Thornton, and the fact that they were employees of a private firm,” were sentenced to three years’ and one and a half years’ deprivation of liberty respectively, in each case, without loss of civil rights and without confiscation of property.” In the case of Zivert, in consideration of the fact that since 19.T1 he has shown that he had "broken with the wreckers,” it was stated that "no measure of repression could be applied.” and he would be liberated.

Mr. Gregory was declared acquitted on the grounds of "insufficiency of proof. ’ ’ Mr. Nordwall, on returning to Britain, will be accompanied by his wife, whose application for release from Soviet citizenship was granted to-day.