Three Defendants Out of 21
Escape Moscow, Mar, 22, Eighteen of the 21 political—pel-soners on trial for their lives before the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court were sentenced to death here to-day on charges ranging from plots, against the lives of high Soviet Teaders to attempts to overthrow the Government.
The only three defendants to escape the death penalty were Prof.
Christian Rakovsky, former dent of the Ukraine; and M, S.A. Bessonov, former Counsellor of the Soviet Embassy in Berlin, 'Those sentenced to death' included:
Nikolai Bulharin, former President of the Internationale and editor of the "Izvestia"; G, Yagoda, former head of te Polite. Police:
'N, ¥. Rosengoits, former Commmlstar of Foreign Teede; 'M. Grigori Fyodorovich Grinku, former Commissar of Finance; 'M. N, N. Krestinsky, former Vice~ Commissar of Foreign' Affairs under M, Maxim Litvinov; 'M, Mikhail Alexandrovich Chernov, former People's Commissar of Agriculture; M.A. I, Rykov, former Commissar of Communications; Int, Faizulla Kehodzhaev, former Premi Prof, L, V, Levin, head of the Kremlin Hospital; 'M. Akmal Irramov, former Seeretary' of the Uzbekistan Party; Borish Sharngovich, former Secretary of the White Russian Party; Dr. 1. N, Kazakov; Ivanov, former Commissar of Forestry; MI. Teck Zelensiey, former head of 'M, Peter Kruchmov, former Secretary to M, Maxim Gorky; 'M. V. A. Maximov, former, Secre~ tary of the State Planning Commlsion M, P, P, Bulanov, former leader of the Secret Police, and M.-P. ¥, Zubarev, Heavy Gaol Terms The three defendants who escaped the death penalty all drew heavy prison terms, Prof. Pletney was Sentenced to 25 years imprisonment while M, Rakovsky drow twenty years and M, Bossonov Aifteen years.
Announcement of the verdict ended another of the sensational trials which have sent scores of former high Soviet officials to their death for alleged crimes against the Stalin regime. The present trial Included testimony alleging that the defend ants conspired with foreign Powers, Including Britain, Germany and Japan, to overthrow the Communist regime in the USSR. and re-establish capitalism—United Pres:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.