[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 77 (Friday, June 17, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      THE CASE OF SEMYON LIVSHITZ

                                 ______


                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 17, 1994

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call the attention of this 
body to the case of Semyon Livshitz, a former Russian naval officer 
currently serving a 10-year sentence in prison for alleged rape and 
robbery in Vladivostok.
  This is a complicated story, Mr. Speaker. In February 1990, the 
captain of the ship upon which Livshitz served prior to his release 
from active duty was accused of rape and robbery. In the course of the 
interrogation, the captain accused Livshitz of being in the pay of 
Israeli intelligence, and plotting to hijack a Russian submarine to 
turn over to the Israelis--sort of a ``Red October'' scenario. Although 
the scheme was too farfetched for even the KGB, in August 1990, 
Livshitz was arrested and accused of being implicated in the rape and 
robbery cases under investigation in Vladivostok.
  For a year and a half, Livshitz was in pretrial detention, under 
living conditions indicating that jails haven't changed much in the 
Russian Far East since Chekhov's expose of the penal colonies on 
Sakhalin Island exactly 100 years ago.
  Suffice it to say that Livshitz' health was seriously impaired by 
that experience. He and 25 other prisoners were kept in a cell intended 
for 8 persons, with little light or air. In addition, he reported that 
he was repeatedly beaten by prison wardens.
  In April 1992, Livshitz, along with the ship captain and another 
sailor, was found guilty by a military tribunal and sentenced to 10 
years hard labor. According to Livshitz' lawyer, the investigation and 
trial were conducted in the best preperestroika Soviet tradition, with 
threats against victims and codefendants, extortion of gifts and cash 
from Livshitz' family and friends during the investigation, and an 
attempt by the judge to persuade a witness to retract his testimony.
  The judicial procedure and investigation were so flawed that the 
sentence was struck down on appeal and a new trial was ordered. 
Incidentally, the investigating officer in the case was fired for 
having fabricated much of the evidence.
  The retrial, again in a military court, began in February 1993. 
Observers reported that they felt the defense had made a good case and 
that ``the prosecution was having a hard time grounding its claims.'' 
However, on April 22, 1994, the court found all three defendants guilty 
of rape and robbery, and sentenced them to 10 years in prison. 
Livshitz' attorney plans to appeal the decision again to the higher 
military tribunal in Moscow.
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot make a clear determination of Semyon Livshitz' 
innocence or guilt on what are certainly serious charges, but it surely 
appears that basic principles of rule of law have been disregarded at 
the local judicial level in Semyon Livshitz' case.
  As cochairman of the Helsinki Commission, the government body 
mandated by law to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki 
Accords, I would urge the appeals court in Moscow to examine this case 
very closely.

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