WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR. SHCHARANSKY'S TRIAL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81M00980R002000100103-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 30, 2006
• Sequence Number: 103
• Publication Date: May 2, 1978
• Content Type: NSPR

RTICLE APPI A
proved For Release 2 W1?S: 51A b~OBY';ER002000100103-5
William F. Buckley Jr.
Shchara sky's trial
The trial of Anatoly
Shcharansky nears, and un-
fair though it is to the de-
fendant to dwell on it, much
hangs on the procedure and
the outcome of extra-per-
sonal interests.
Shcharansky is,. we. can
safely assume, innocent.
But he is an important
pawn`inwhom the Soviet
Union has greatly invested.
Perversely, the Commu-
nists have been greatly
aided by the astonishing
behavior of President Car-
tee and one'of his key se-
curity assistants, David
Aaron.
Briefly on the matterJof
. Shcharansky. He is a com-
puter mathemetician whQ in
;April 1973 applied for per-
mission to emigrate to Is-
rael. Permission 'denied.
Why? Because he "pos-
sessed classified informa-
tion," a. charge- at. which
everyone in Moscow-who-is
permitted to laugh, laughed.
Shcaransky had, been em-
ployed irr the. Moscow Re-
search Institute for Oil' and
Gas, which. is officially un-
classified.
Shcharansky's offense is
that a) he is Jewish - the
Soviet Union's frenzied
campaign against the Jews
is unabated; b) he sought. to
leave the country; and c)
by joining the forlorn com-
mittee of Soviet citizens
who endeavored ,to monitor
Soviet compliance with. the
Helsinki: pact, he insulted
the people who signed'that
pact.
Thus far, routine Soviet The residual problem is
stuff..But. then a. year ago, that if the Soviet Union
having arrested Shcha- "proves" - i.e., presents
ransky, the Soviet Union , hard evidence ,. that Li-
announced that he would be pavsky was. in fact a CIA
tried for treason, an offense agent - Carter is labeled a
that not uncommonly brings liar. That is unpleasant, but
a 'death - sentence. The not unendurable. What: is
prosecutors -came up with truly damaging is the pros-
one : Dr. Sanya Lipvasky pect that Soviet dissidents.
who. had shared an apart- would stand; to forfeit much
ment for a few months with of their sympathy outside
Shcharansky during his Russia if one of their mem-
bachelor days. bers was proved to be a
Lipavsky, the Soviet '. U.S. agent.
press reported, had con- ' . Never mind the mitigat-
fessed to the Soviet Union in ing facts -- almost. cer-
great remorse that during tainly, Lipavsky was a;dou-
1975 he had acted as a CIA ble agent, in this case hired
agent and, as a repentant by the KGB.to approach the
Jewish dissident, he was CIA to forge a synthetic link
now presumably ready to.' expressly for the purpose of
testify :against Shcha- disclosing that link in pub-
ransky, again presumably a - licly useful circumstances.
co-conspirator. It is not Almost -.lost in the
clear what services Li- excitement of. Shcharansky
pavskywas in 'position- to -are two other Soviet Jews,
render the CIA since he was Grigory Goldstein and
a doctor in a clinic that- Pavel Abramovich. They
examined ;taxi, and bus are to be'tried for 'some-
drivers. thing called "parasitism,"
which is the crime of being
In .June .of last year, unemployed. It happens
President Carter -an- that they are un mployed
nounced at a press confer because, on -app4ying to
ence that Shcharansky "has emigrate.from the Soviet
never had any sort of rela- Union, they were promptly
tionship, to our knowledge, fired from their jobs. Abra-
with the CIA." But then last movich thereupon made a
March, David Aaron, an frugal living by teaching
important assistant to Brze- Hebrew. He did this openly,
zinski', tipped -,off Time paying all the relevant
magazine that in fact Li- taxes. But he was neverthe-
pavsky had indeed been ac-. less, charged with. unem-
tive with the CIA. Between, ployment inasmuch as He-
them -' Carter and Aaron .brew is,'not an "official
- about every.protocol in .-language." How can anyone
the `spy, business was, vio be employed , teaching, a
laced. non -existent language?
Approved For Release 2006/11/04: CIA-RDP81 M00980R002000100103-5