BRITAIN DEFIED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21463, 10 April 1933, Page 9

BRITAIN DEFIED

MOSCOW PRESS " CANNOT FRIGHTEN US " TRIAL OF ENGINEERS THURSDAY NOW FIXED COUNSEL FOR ACCUSED By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received April 9, G. 35 p.m.) MOSCOW. April 8 The Moscow newspapers to-day belatedly disclosed the British Government's measures for controlling imports from Russia. They fulminate against everything British. Ihe Izvestia declares: " Britain not frighten us. The Soviet is determined mercilessly to mete out justice to all wreckers, including British." The formal indictments are to bo handed to the accused employees of the Metropolitan Vickers Company on Monday. Their trial, originally fixed for to-morrow is not likely to be held before next Thursday—the Russian " day of rest." This will enable as many workers as possible to attend. Counsel for Mr. John Cushny is M. Peter Lidoff and for Messrs. Charles Nordwall and Gregory, M. Aaron Dolmatovsky. Mr. W. 11. Mac Donald is to be represented by M. Smirnoff, a prominent member of the Collegium. M. Nicholas Komodoff will appear for Mr. Allan Monkhouse, and M. Ilia Brando for Mr. AV. 11. Thornton. Both are noted counsel. The defence lawyers' plans are well forward. The trial is expected to last 10 days The trial of employees of the Stalin Engineering Works, charged with wrecking resulted in sentences of 10 years' imprisonment downwards and two acquittals. BRITISH ACTION MINISTER EXPLAINS OGPU'S DRASTIC METHODS British Wireless RUGBY, April 7 The Foreign Secretary, Sir John Simon, in the course of his statement to the House of Commons during the first reading debate on the Russian trade embargo bill, explained the action the Government had taken in connection with the arrests of the Vickers engineers. He stated than on the night of March 11 the Ogpu searched the house where some of the engineers were living and arrested Messrs. Monkhouse and Thornton, who were removed at 2 a.m. to prison. Next morning Messrs. Cushny and Mac Donald were also taken to gaol. Nobody disputed the sovereign authority of any foreign Government, said Sir John, but he was entitled to call attention to the circumstances which immediately accompanied the arrests. At the • same time the Ogpu in the same prison not merely sentenced 35 Russians to death, but carried out the sentence there and then | without any trial, so far as was known, and certainly without putting into motion any ordinary judicial proceedj ings. I Continuing, the Minister said: "When | the Foreign Office received a telegram stating that British engineers were in the hands of the Ogpu and when another telegram came stating that the Ogpu had shot 35 people without trial, I thought I was entitled to—" (The end of the sentence was lost in cheers.) "Three or four days before the shooting of the 35 Russians the Soviet press had stated that 45 Russians had been arrested for the crime of agricultural sabotage." Sir John added, amid laughter, that the deliberate propagation of weeds in fields and the lowering of crop yields was one of the charges. The Minister added: "The British Ambassador immediately inquired as to the charge on which the arrests of the British engineers were made, where the arrested men were located, and whether ■ they could be visited. As it was ' rest i day' the answer was delayed until next | dav." —————________