Background
Shifrin, Avraam was born in 1923 in Minsk.
Shifrin, Avraam was born in 1923 in Minsk.
Took part in World War II. After the war, studied law. For some time, worked in the Soviet judicial system. Arrested, 1953. Sent to the Gulag.
Released after 10 years in camps and 4 years of internal exile. Became involved in the Jewish national movement. Left the USSR, 1970. Lives in Israel.
In October 1987, testified at the John Demjanjuk trial in Israel. Said he had been recruited by the Committee for State Security while serving as a state prosecutor. Helped to compile false charges against Soviet citizens who had escaped to the West, in order to discredit them or request their extradition.
Told how in 1953 he was convicted of spying for Israel and the US, and was given the death sentence, later commuted to life imprisonment. Told of the Committee for State Security ploy of writing to prominent people in the West in order to collect the signatures on their replies for forgeries.