Скачать или смотреть RUSSIA: RAOUL WALLENBERG DEATH: STATEMENT

(22 Dec 2000) English/Nat
XFA
Russia officially acknowledged Friday that Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg was wrongfully imprisoned by Soviet authorities for political reasons until he perished.

He was arrested by the Soviets after helping tens of thousands of Jews escape Nazi-occupied Hungary,

The two-page statement from the Russian prosecutor-general's office was the latest step forward in the painful process of clarifying the circumstances of Wallenberg's mysterious disappearance more than half a century ago.

The prosecutor's office said it had concluded that Wallenberg and his driver "were repressed by Soviet authorities."

It said they had been arrested without grounds as "socially dangerous" individuals and deprived of their freedom.

Repression is the term used for a wide spectrum of political persecution, including exile, imprisonment, and execution of Soviet-era political prisoners.

Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov signed a verdict posthumously rehabilitating Wallenberg and his driver, Vilmos Langfelder, as "victims of political repression," the statement said.

However, the circumstances of their death remained unclear.

The statement said only they perished in Soviet prisons and that it had not been possible to clear up exactly where and how they had died.

Wallenberg's family and the Swedish government long have maintained that he was executed by Soviet authorities.

SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"Today the office of Prosecutor General have taken a decision to rehabilitate the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and his driver Vilmos Langfelder. "
SUPERCAPTION: Prosecutor General' spokeswoman Natalya Veshnyakova

SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"The employees of the Swedish diplomatic mission Raoul Wallenberg and his driver Vilmos Langfelder were arrested as "socially dangerous elements" without being found guilty of any crime. There are no further details about their incarceration in the Soviet Union or the circumstances surrounding their death. "
SUPERCAPTION: Prosecutor General' spokeswoman Natalya Veshnyakova

SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"The issue of rehabilitation of victims of political repression is very important one for us. From 1991 when the law on rehabilitation was adopted, the office of Prosecutor General and other judicial organizations have rehabilitated over 700,000 instances of political repression. So, it's not as if cases such as this occur without rhyme or reason. They are part of a constant effort on the part of the prosecutor's office."
SUPERCAPTION: Prosecutor General' spokeswoman Natalya Veshnyakova

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