A Christian Musician Awaits Trial In The Soviet Union
Valeri Barinov, a Christian rock musician in the Soviet Union, is awaiting trial in Leningrad and may face up to three years in a labor camp. He is charged with attempting to cross the Soviet-Norwegian border illegally, according to a Telex sent from the American embassy in Moscow to U.S. Sen. John East (R-N.C.).
In response to inquiries by East, the U.S. embassy checked up on Barinov, who was held in a Soviet psychiatric hospital for nine days last year for expressing his religious views in public (CT, Nov. 25, 1983, p. 36). Barinov is the leader of Trumpet Call, a gospel rock group, and he has counseled Soviet drug and alcohol abusers.
Curtis W. Kamman, charge d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, told East that letters expressing the concern of individual Americans could make a significant difference in the treatment Barinov receives. “Many Soviet human rights activists tell us that such efforts by private citizens in the United States and Europe are helpful over the long term,” he said.
Christians can express their concerns by writing to the Honorable Anatoliy F. Dobrynin, Ambassador to the United States, Soviet Embassy, 1125 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.
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