LIVELY COURT SCENES

Chronicle (Levin), 27 January 1949, Page 5

LIVELY COURT SCENES

Former Communist Defends His Integrity PARIS, Jan. 25. The presiding Magistrate 'ordered a young woman to be Temoved from the Court for laughing wheh tlre hearing oit the libel aetion by the Rnssiau author, Victor Ivravehenko, against the Com-' mnnist weekly.Les' Lettres Pran-caises was resumed today. She giggled when 'Claude Morgan, manager of the weekly, said: "Russia is not a closed co untry. " ' ' Pemand Urenier, a member of the1 . French Commimist Party central commitee, a witness for the defence, react out long passages from - Kravchen'ko 'si 'hook "I -Chose Freedom," dealing with ; talks with his father and grandfather. "Ivravehenko was not nine years old' when he had this long involved econo-: niie argument in Marxist thoughts, he said. Ivravehenko retorted: "Of course 1 don 't' remember everything my father and grandfather said." - ' G-renier persisted: "My argument is that Ivravehenko quotes at great lengtli from eeonomic arguments that are obviously fietitious. " '(frenier argued that a former workerand Communist eould not have written1 un anti-Russian hook lilce "I Chose Freedom. ' ' Claude Morgan -said the information Jontained in the artieles about which ivravehenko eomplained eame -from an: Ameriean iournalist "Him Thomas. "

He gave no further identilication. Replving to a question by Krav- .- IveU ko 's lawyers as to how he got witnesses from Russia to come to Paris, .Vlorgan said: "The Soviet Union is not u -elosed eountry. We have good relatious with our Soviet friends." Ivravchengo had a geography test when Grenier made a page by page criticism of "I Chose Preedom. " Grenier said on page 70 of tlie French edition there was a passage describing ihe town of Aslikliabad as having its ua ni e ehanged to Staliuabad. He produeed a niap of .the Soviet Nnion, and said Ashkhabad had never had its name ehanged. There was a Stalinabad but it iv as ■over 600 miles away. Ivravehenko was shown the map and asked to point to the two towns. He brushed the map.'aside" saying: "All this means nothing. Nam.es of Soviet towns are always being ehanged." There was a violent elasli between the two men when (fcenier quoted a {ihrase from a 'book aliout Soviet industrisil strength during the war being

nieoiierent and mefflcient. " Grenier said that the Red Army won its fight against Hitler with only 5 per eent. of Allied aid in equipment whieh proved that the Soviet industrial eifort was in fact " colierent and eflfiuieitt. 7 3 Ivravehenko shouted: " Liar, traitor, . yon repi'esent the victory over fascism as a miraele wrought by Stalin," and added: "No, gentlemen, it was not a miraele by Stalin, it was a miraele by tue Russian people. The war was won i»v tlie Russian people, thanks to labour, ,.ears, sullering, patriotism, and saerifiee. " Counsel for Grenier objected to his witness — a former Minister of the Freneh Government — being called a uaitor and liar. The Judge repiied that he could not mterrupt Kravehenko because "I don't understand what he is saying. It would be pointless to interrupt the translator. " -Ivravehenko is giving his eviuenee in Russian. A remark about his relationship witn a girl roused Ivravehenko to appeal to

cii€ tcr proteetioiL against fquestions wounding my human feeling. " Defence lawyer Maitre Nordmann had said that in his deposition to the, Court, Kravehenko denied that a girl called Elena was his mistrass, bpt in: one passage of "I Chose Freedom,"' Kravehenko described how, in fact, Elena had become his mistress. ^ Kiavehenko juniped up and shouted: Shame on you. Be silent about her I ^r.0u. Sa-^T about her being the victim of the Soviet regime. " The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow. o