DONETZ TRIALS

Southland Times, Issue 20527, 2 July 1928, Page 7

DONETZ TRIALS

SOVIET GENTLENESS

IMPORTANT WITNESS UNRELIABLE

LIGHT SENTENCES PROPOSED

(United Press Assn.—By Telegraph—Copyright.) (Rec. 5.5 p.m.) Moscow, June 30. No doubt influenced by the political situation M. Krylenko handled the cases of the German Donetz accused with conspicuous mildness. He withdrew the charge against engineer Mayer on the ground that the Russian witness against him was unreliable and demanded a sentence of six months or a year against Otta and asked for the release of Badstieber on parole.—Australian Press Association.—United Service.

The Donetz prosecutions arose out of charges by the Soviet secret service that German engineers imported for service in the coalmining area of the Donetz basin had been guilty of sabotage. It was alleged that the engineers aided by Russian experts had caused serious mismanagement in the mines for the purpose of ruining the industry commercially. The answer to these charges was that the trouble was due to the methods of the Soviet’s officers who permitted drunkness and loafing among the workers so that efficient working was impossible. It has been shown that Soviet inspectors reported on the awful conditions in the Donetz basin as a result of drunkness and ideleness among the Russian workers before there was any hint of accusations against the German engineers, and it is believed that the so-called plot was “discovered” by the secret service (Cheka) for the purpose of covering up the failure of the Soviet management, 'flic gentleness of the prosecution in the trial of the Donetz defendants has given some measure of confirmation of this view.