HC Deb 09 June 1982 vol 25 cc198-9
9. Mr. Lawrence

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make representations to the Soviet authorities about the case of Alexander Paritsky, sentenced to three years' imprisonment in 1981.

Mr. Rifkind

Mr. Paritsky's case was raised twice by the United Kingdom delegation to the CSCE review meeting in Madrid at plenary sessions in November 1981, and was included in a list of cases handed to the leader of the Soviet delegation in December 1981. We regret that there has been no Soviet response.

Mr. Lawrence

I thank my hon. Friend for the Government's enthusiastic action in these matters. Is he aware of the official resolution passed by the European Parliament last month, on the initiative of the Staffordshire East MEP, Robert Moreland, and a Dutch representative, voicing concern at the alarming decrease in the number of exit permits being given by the Soviet Government to Jews who wish to leave the USSR, the continuing harassment and arrest of Jews who wish to leave, the responsibilities of the Soviet Union—

Mr. Speaker

Order. This question deals with Alexander Paritsky. The hon. and learned Gentleman's supplementary question must be confined to Alexander Paritsky's case and must not be broadened.

Mr. Lawrence

Is my hon. Friend aware that the actions of the Soviet Union involve, by inference, the case of Alexander Paritsky among others? What do the Government propose to do about the call for Foreign Ministers to act together to take action in these matters?

Mr. Rifkind

I congratulate the European Parliament on the initiative that it has taken. My hon. and learned Friend is correct to draw attention to the fact that the number of Jews allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union in 1981 was 9,800, the lowest for about 10 years. We shall continue to use every available opportunity to make the Soviet Union aware of the strong feelings in this country as well as in other Western countries.

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