Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: FRIDAY, March 9, 1990 TAG: 9003092112 SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
Raiz, who was denied an exit permit on grounds he knew state secrets, is the longest-term Jewish refusenik in the Soviet Union. Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman, R-N.Y., said Raiz was allowed to depart after Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev interceded.
Raiz, of Vilnius, Lithuania, was fired from his job at the Institute of Molecular Biology after applying for an exit permit in 1972. His wife has been in Washington on a tourist visa, trying to bring pressure on Moscow. A demonstration had been scheduled outside the Soviet Embassy.
Carmella Raiz also was dismissed from her job as first violinist of the Vilna Philharmonic Orchestra. They have two sons, Moshe, 12, and Shaul, 8, and are observant Jews.
- Associated Press