THE POWERS TRIAL--1

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP75-00001R000400060010-7
Release Decision: 
RIFPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
24
Document Creation Date: 
November 11, 2016
Document Release Date: 
June 1, 1999
Sequence Number: 
10
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
August 20, 1960
Content Type: 
PREL
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP75-00001R000400060010-7.pdf2.24 MB
Body: 
Approved For Release 1999/10/13 : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 EMBASSY OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS Pr?ss Deportment 1706 18tl OSIr N.W. TH POI: MS TRIAL--I es +, 9119% C. W14 On the morning of Au ust 17 an open trial begar in the Hall of Columns of the Ilouse of the Trade Unions in Moscow to consider the criminal case of spy- pilot Francis Gary i'ov.ers, citizen of the United States of Awerica, committed for trial in accordance with rti.cle 2 of the Law of t,e USSR On Criminal Responsibility for State Crimes." The case is being considered by the Military Coliogium of the USSR Supreme Court under Presiding V . ;e J.V. Borisoglebskyy, Lieutenant General of Justice and Chairman of the i'. iJJ t, ry College um. The People's Assessors are D. Vor- obyov, lajor veneral of t_rc Artillery, and A.T. Za..harov, iia,ior General of the Air Force. The secretar;r of the court is M.V. Afana.syev, Major of Administra- tive Service. The State Prosecutor is R.A. Rudenko, State Counselor of Justice, Procura- tor General of the 1j55A. Powers' counsel for the defense is M.I. Grinyov, member of the Moscow City Collegium of Lavprers . Present in the hall are r.anr representatives of the Soviet public, workers of Moscow: factorios, office workers and ivorll:ers of science and culture. Attending the trial are ; ublic figures and lawre:cs from various countries. Amon; them are Snehangshu Kanta lc'harya, lawyer, Secretary General of the All- Indian Association of :Democratic Lavyers; Ilias Iliu, :~ avjrer, member of the Greek Parliament; C iri_stian Ila.gens, Danish lawyer; Lionel Dighes, Scottish lawyer; Horan von Bonsdorf, professor of lave from Finland; Jean Kazalbau, pro- fessor from France; I.aur'?ce Cornille, Belgian lave;yar; Pau]. iterberg, Canadian lawyer; William Monteur, Samuel Saf?ir and alexa.nder Anders, Australian public figures; Konni Zilli.akus, nritish Labor public .figure; Charles Lederman, French lavTer; Daniel Mayer, French nub7.ic figure, Chairman of the French League of Human Rightts ; Slimaa ben Slima.n, President of the Tunisian Committee of Strug- gle for Freedom and Peace; Oginda Odin~a, Vice-President of the African National. Union of i-enya; Afana Osendi (Cameroon), Secretary of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee; Isabelle Blum (Belgiutu), member of the Presidium of the TJorld Peace Council; Mario Bariona (Italy), Secretary of the World Feder-t i on of Democratic Youth; Ilerriann Lc j entz (C;-rile), Secretary of the International Union of Stu- dents; Salyah Keru, Chairman of a Chamber of the Tunisian Court of Appeals; Olga Poblete (Chile), Member of the World Peace Council; and Satish Chatterjee (India), representative of the World Federation of Trade Unions. Present in the hall are members of the diplomatic corps, a group of tour- ists from the United States, and delegates of the ;iorld Congress of Oriental- iats., just held iii 'ioccota. More than 1i~0 foreign correspoi:deuts from almost 30 countries represent the largest news agertci.es, nev;snapers and other organs of the press as well as radio and television. The Soviet press is also widely represented. Present in the hall are Powers' relatives: his father Oliver, his mother Ida, his wife Barbara and mother-in-law Nonteen iro*.?ar, attending the trial together vdth them are Solomon Cury, a friend of ti '`0-amity, and their lav,yers Paul A. IvIacafee, Frank W. Rogers and Alexander I. Parker. Exhibited in the hall is material evidence showing Powers to have been engaged in espionage. The evidence includes aerial photography instruments and radiotechnical means which had been aboard the Lockheed U-2 plane, a mag- nstic tape recorder, a parachute, a pressurized suit, a pistol, and a pin with lethal poison. At 10:00A.M. the presiding judge, Lt. Gen. of Justice Borisoglebsky, de- C1.0- d'? ~Pr~ I as4el 9W' ey.T3Cpgl IA75r 004R0004M60Mo$ened 'f T! an r ens the commandant to have the defendant brought in. Approved For Release 1999/1043' CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 The American spy-pilot is brought into the hall and takes his place in the dock. The presiding judge announces that, in accordance with the Criminal Pro- cedure Code of the Russian Federation, the trial will be conducted in Russian., with translation into English. For the benefit of the audience the proceedings are simultaneously translated into English, French, German and Spanish. Attending the session as English interpreters of the court are B.E. Belit- sky and I.A. Adarnov. The court warns the interpreters of their responsibility for intentionally-incorrect translation. in reply to questions from the presiding judge, defendant Francis G. Powers replies that he was born in 1929 in Iirdine, Kentucky, USA. Ire is a profession- al pilot. Powers says that he received the text of the indictment in English last Wednesday and the decision to commit him for trial was announced to him. The presiding judge then establishes who of the witnesses and experts called to the court are present at the session. The witnesses are invited to the table. They are drivers V.P. Surin and L.A. Chuzhakin, worker A.i?. Chere- misin and disabled veteran of vaorld War 11 P.E. Asabin, all of whoa. saw the U-2 plane when it was shot down by a rocket near Sverdlovsk and who apprehended the spy. After the witnesses sign a written statement concerning responsibility for false testimony and are conducted to the witness room, the presiding judge calls in the experts: Prof. U.A. lstomin, D.Sc. (Tech.); Colonel N.A. Alexeyev, Colo- nel of the Engineers R.A. lndreyev; Colonel of the Engineers N.M. Burmistrov- Zuyev; Lieutenant Colonel of the I?ngineoro Y.V. Tyufilin; Prof. V.I. Prozorovsky, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation; and Lieutenant Colonel I.V. Vorosni- lov. The court warns the experts that their conclusions should be strictly in accordance with the circumstances of the case. The experts are warned that they are responsible before the law for submitting false conclusions. In accordance with Article 277 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Rus- sian Federation, the presiding judge explains to Powers his rights under the law in court. The defendant is entitled to testify in English, to take part in the court proceedings, to put questions to witnesses, to make statements con- cerning testimony of witnesses, to put questions to experts for solution, to submit new evidence, to request new evidence and documents to be included in the case, to have a lawyer in court and to speak a last word at the end of the court proceedings. Powers replied in the affirmative to a question as to whether or not he understood the rights granted him in court by law. Then the members of the court, elected by the USSR Supreme Soviet on Feb- ruary 12, 1957, are announced. Neither the Procurator General, the lawjer, nor the defendant challenge the composition of the court as a whole or any members of the court. The de- fendant Powers does not challenge the Procurator or experts, nor does he reject his counsel. After the presiding judge establishes that the Procurator General, the lawyer and the defendant have no statements or requests to make in connection with the preliminary proceedings, the court commences with the judicial inquiry. The secretary of the court, Major of Administrative Service Afanasyev, reads the indictment on the criminal case of Francis Gary Powers, accused of committing a crime falling under Article 2 of the Law of the USSR. "On Criminal Responsibility for State Crimes." (The full text of the indictment was published in the press on August 10, 1960. See our Press Release No. 393 of August 10.) The indictment cites Powers' words that he admits his guilt on the sub- stance of the accusation. He testified, in partiovlar; "I plead guilty to the fact that I have flown over Soviet territory and over the points indicated on the chart, turned on and off the necessary controls of the special equipment mounted aboard my plane. This, I believe, was done with the aim of collecting intelligence information about the Soviet Union." citiz.!'M i 3' e~ U2S i~i 1 rk 92~", rie ci Ftp 'o y oqJ rQ opt en'tur y a Approved For Release 1999/10/13 CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 -3 college graduate, pilot of the special reconnaissance detachment 10-10 of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, is charged with having been recruited in 1956 by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, carrying on active espionage work aga:i.nst the Soviet Union--which is an expres- sion of the aggressive policy pursued by the United States Government. On May 1, 1960, Powers, with the knowledge of the United States Government, on an assignment from the American Intelligence, which in practice implements the abovementioned aggressive policy, had on a specially equipped Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance plane invaded the airspace of the USSR for the purpose of col- lecting strategic information on the location of rocket bases, airfields, radar network and other highly important defense and industrial installations of the USSR, that is, information constituting a state and military secret of the Soviet Union, and, having flown more than 2,000 kilometers inside Soviet terri- tory photographed, by means of special equipment, a number of the abovementioned installations and recorded signals of radar stations; he also collected other espionage data. The crime committed by defendant Francis Gary Powers falls under Article 2 of the USSR Law "On Criminal Responsibility for State Crimes." After the indictment was read out, the presiding judge, Lt. Gen. of Jus- tice Borisoglebsky, asked the defendant: "Defendant Powers, do you understand the charge brought against you?" POWERS : Yes. PRESIDING JUDGE: Do you plead guilty of the charge? POTTERS : Yes, I do. The court, after a consultation on the spot, decides to begin the hearing of the case with questioning the defendant, then questioning the witnesses and hearing the experts' conclusions. After a brief interval the trial was resumed and the questioning of the defendant begun. The Procurator General of the USSR, R.A. Rudenko, put questions to the defendant regarding the preparation and carrying out of the spy flight over the territory of the USSR by Powers. RUDENKO: Defendant Powers, when did you get the assignment to fly over the territory of the Soviet Union? POWERS: On the morning of May 1. RUDENKO: From whom did you get that assignment? POWERS: From the commander of my detachment. RUDENKO: Who is the commander of this detachment? PO4' ERS: Colonel Shelton. RUDEINKO: Where is this detachment located? POW RS: It is located in Adana, Turkey. RUDENKO: Where did you get the assignment to fly to the Soviet Union? POWERS: In Peshawar, Pakistan. RUDENKO: When did you arrive in Peshawar? POWERS: I don't remember the exact date. It was a few days before the flight, four or five days. RUDENKO: That means in the latter part of April? POWERS: Yes, in the latter part of April. 11 . Por ease ON & 1!'tf t-00001 R000400060010-7 T Rec Approved For Release 1999/10/13: clA. RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 Powers replied that he arrived on a cargo aircraft with some 20 people and the commanding officer Shelton and admitted that the plane was only to deliver the people to the airfield ( a special trip in connection with preparations for the flight to the Soviet Union), that it took off for Peshawar (Pakistan) from Adana (Turkey) ~w.ith but one landing for refueling somewhere along the route. It might have been Bahrein. The airfield was serviced by British personnel but he couldn't say whether or not it was a British base. To Rudenko's question, he re- plied that the U-2 plane had been brought to the Peshawar airfield the night be-. fore, April 30. In reply to questions put by the Procurator, defendant Powers stated that the U-2 plane which he had flown was a special high-altitude aircraft prepared and designed to fly at very high altitudes. He tried to evade answering directly whether or not it was a reconnaissance military plane, but finally was compelled to admit that the plane belonged to the 10-10 detachment. RUDENKO: Was this a military detachment? POWERS: Yes, it was commended by military personnel, but the main part of the personnel were civilians. Powers confessed that the plane on which he flew was without identifica- tion marks. The procurator turned to questions concerning the flight of the U.S. spy plane over the territorw- of the USSR. Defendant Powers said that he presently did not remember the. exact information about the flight, but he did remember that he flew directly from the Peshawar airfield to the Soviet border, which he crossed half an hour after take-off. The maximum height of the flight was 68,000 feet (more than 20 kilometers). RUDMRKO: What did Colonel Shelton tell you about the safety of flights at such an altitude? POIT14 S: I was told that flying at such an altitude over the Soviet Union was absolutely safe and that anti-aircraft means would not reach me. Powers went on to say that he had been instructed to fly at the designated altitude and along the designated route, turning switches on and off at desig- nated points. At the request of the Procurator General, Powers was shoUn his flight map. The defendant declared that all the route points were marked on this map. One of them was east of the Aral Sea, another, to the northwest of Chelyabinsk. One point was on the way to the city of Kirov, and another--beyond it. There were points not far from Archangel, near the island of Solo, close to Kongoma, at Kandalal:sha, and north and south of Murmansk. RUDENKO: ghat was the destination of the flight? POWTERS: I was to land at Bodoe (Norway). It was also established during the questioning that Powers had a reserve route in case of an accident. Routes were also mapped out to the nearest air- fields and the shortest U y to them was indicated. The defendant said that he had been told that in case of an accident any airfield outside the Soviet Union would be better than one inside the Soviet Union. In case of an accident he could land at an airfield in Sweden or in Finland. He was told that a repre- sentative of the detachment would meet him in 3odoe. RUDENKO: By what means were you to come into contact with the Bodoe base in Norway before landing? POLE1 S: I would have called on the radio and given my call signal which was Puppy-68 and ask for landing instructions. During the interrogation it grew clear that Pourers followed the mapped-out route almost exactly. RUDENKO: How did you feel at the time of the flight? POvJERS: I felt all right, but 1 was nervous. I was afraid. RUDENKO: What were you afraid of? AI ed F itRel ett99 /4W2t: CIAdROWaX09?iROQ 4@? 0608.7et Union. This was soraet,hing I wouldn't want to do every day. Approved For Release 1999/10/13 : ~IA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 The State Prosecutor then asked a number of questions concerning the way the pilot used the special intelligence aerial photography installations: Powers tried to pretend that he had no idea of their desi,nation. However, as a result of additional questions by the Procurator he was compelled to admit the real, spying designation of the installations and admitted the intelligence purpose of the flight over the Soviet Union. RUDENKO: You stated here, and during the preliminary interrogation as well, that you turned switches on and off at definite points. POWERS: I did what I was told to. RUDENKO: Not knowing about the special installations? POWERS: I never saw those special installations. RUDENKO: You could have just as well pressed a lever and released an atoi,de bomb? POWERS: It could be done, only this type of plane doesn't have a bomb car- riage. These words uttered by Pourers with surprising coolness and evoked indig- nation in the hall. During the interrogation it was confirmed that the bosses ,ho sent Powers off on a spy flight provided their hireling with all the equipment required in case of an accident and with all the necessary instructions. The spy pilot had been ordered not only to destroy the plane in case of a forced landing on the territory of the USSR., but himself also, to use the deadly poison care- fully prepared by the same notorious 1-ir. Shelton, whose identity as the trial goes on is becoming more clear as a zealous executor of the Pentagon's ti-,ill. The questioning grew sharper and sharper. Rudenko, the State Prosecutor, posed precise, clear-cut questions, helping the court to -fully establish the guilt of Powers and those who stood behind him--who hypocritically spoke about peace while in deed proclaiming espionage a state policy. Replying to a question by the Procurator, Pourers explained to the court under what circumstances he made a contract -vrith the Central intelligence Agency. Wrlhen he was serving in the Army Air Force, some people offered him a well-paid job. Powers was told that he would have to go through appropriate training, that he would be separated from this family acid would stay overseas for about 18 months. The defendant said that he liked the idea of flying for big pay. He said that he was ready to be separated from his family and to leave home. He was told hat was required of him. RUDENKO: When did this happen? POET BURS: In 1956. Powers later, was told that he would receive w2,500 a month and that his main task was to make flights along the borders of the Soviet Union with the object of picking up all radio or radar information. He was also told that there might be other assignments as well. Powers went on to tell the court that the military base in Adana, where t the 10-10 detachment was stationed, was commanded by an American. The base was visited by General White and General Evers (comr.ianding officer of the U.S. Air Force in Europe) by congressmen and even Cardinal Spellman. The military command adopted special measures to hide the real nature of "work" of the detachment in which Powers served. In particular, the accused had two certificates, one issued by the U.S. Defense Department, and the other, in the name of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (iIASA). Powers admitted that tt7ese certificates gave him the right to fly military aircraft and simultaneously to screen the intelligence work of the detachment. The morning session ended at this point. a; Approved For Release 1999/10/13 : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 Approved For Release 1999/1011 36: CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 At the afternoon session of August 17, the State Prosecutor continued questioning the American spy. The true picture of the way the spy flight of the American military plane had been prepared and carried out became increas- ingly clear to the audience in the hail, as did the fact that the U.S. ruling circles were exerting every effort to increase international tensions, that the spy flights of American planes over Soviet territory were the calculated policy of the U.S. Government which was violating the standards of interna- tional law and the lofty principles of the UN Charter under which the signa- ture of the United States of America is also affixed. Powers confessed that prior to his ill-fated invasion into the air space of the USSR he really had completed several flights along the southern borders of the Soviet Union with special equipment aboard his plane. Those who sent Powers on these missions were i,iost of all interested in the Black Sea area and, as Powers stated, in rocket launchings. The defendant said that dur- ing these flights too he turned certain switches in the plane on and off. RUDENKO: The same way you turned them on and off at the time of the flight on May 1? POW,TERS: Yes, exactly the same way. The State Prosecutor asked him whether other pilots of the 10-10 detach- ment made flights of this kind. Powers replied that assignments were distribu- ted quite evenly among the pilots. Powers' replies revealed with all obviousness the unseemly role of the Governments of Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Norway and the Federal Republic of Germany which obsequiously offered the territories of their countries for the implementation of the aggressive plans of the United States. Powers enumera- ted the airfields he had landed on in a reconnaissance plane and those which were named as reserve airfields. The State Prosecutor had no more questions to ask in the meantime. The defendant was asked several questions by his defense counsel. They concerned Powerst personal history, his family, property status, etc. The lawyer then turned to Powers' work in the Central Intelligence Agency. DEF'ENSE COUNSEL GRINYOV : Why, according to your words, do you now regret prolonging the contract? POV1ELS: Because the situation I'm in at present isn't very good. I heard that my flight, unfortunately, helped wreck the Summit Meeting. The result was that international tensions increased. I'm sincerely sorry that I had something to do with this. This notable admission by a repenting American spy unmasks the U.S. im- perialists, shows them up before everyone as enemies of peace and the friend- ship of nations, as adventurers criminally violating the rules of international law. It is not accidental that the Soviet people, that world public opinion evaluated these provocative actions of the aggressors as a direct threat to universal peace. The defense counsel then asked Powers how the Soviet people treated him when he was arrested and afterward. POWdEaRS: Far better than I expected. Apparently they didn't take me for a foreigner when they first saw me. When I landed, they helped me flatten the parachute and remove ray helmet. But after realizing that they were dealing with a foreigner, they arrested rie. As I was driven to the local authorities, I asked for a drink on the w,y. They stopped the car and gave me a drink of water. I was also offered cigarettes. !hen they brought me to the place-- I don't know the name of the office where the authorities were--I complained about a headache because I bumped my head when my plane was shot down. A doctor was called in and he gave me the necessary attention. I was later taken away to Sverdlovsk, and from there here. I was treated very well all this time, The first day of the trial of U.S. pilot Francis Powers, accused of making a p~d?Fb'r 'l s6 9 /4 /1go~V1 t)P7 {431 FO0 08 I0-7 Approved For Release 1999/10/13 : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 7- - brought against him. The court is making a detailed investigation of all the circumstances of the crime committed by Powers. It is reconstructing the true picture of the way the American imperialists prepared and carried out this ag- gressive act against the Soviet Union. The progress of the court proceedings refutes with all obviousness the attempts of the reactionary bourgeois press to whitewash the U.S. Government of the responsibility for Powers? criminal actions, to slur over the essence of the case, droim the voice of the court with anti-Soviet cries, and to deceive its own people. The Powers'case rises before all honest people of the world as a stern indictment against the imperi- alist warmongers. Approved For Release 1999/10/13 : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 Approved For Release 1999/10/13 : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 EMBASSY OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS Press Department 1706 18th Street, N.W. +r _ _ 9 n Washington 9, D. C. 20 196G In the court proceedings which took place on August 18, after the questioning by the defense counsel, Prosecutor Gneral of the USSR Ronan A. Rudenko asked the defendant cone additional questions. A nunber of questions were put to the defendant by Lieutenant General of the Judiciary Victor V. Borisoglebsky, Chairman of the Military Collegiun of the Supreme Court of the USSR and Monber: of the Court (People's Assessors) Major General of the Air Force A.T. Zakharov arrtd Major General of the Artillery D.Z. Vorobyev. CHAIRMAN OF THE COURT V. V. BORISOGLEBSKY: Defendant Potirers, are you re- pentant for what you have done? POWERS: Yes, very much so. The court then heard the testimony of the witnesses. The trial is continuing to evoke tremendous interest on the part of the Soviet public and representatives of other states. As on the previous even- ing, the wor.cer: of enterprises of the capital, representatives of the intel- ligentsia, diplomats, public figures and jurists of zany lands are present in the Hall of Colunns of tine Trade Union House, where the sessions of the court are taking place. The places for representatives of the Soviet and foreign press are all occupied. Approved For Release 1999/10/13 : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400060010-7 ApprOLy %X J1t1atRg JJ6W1 a' Sl J8-e1% JJ REPUBLICS 10-7 Press Department 1706 16th Street, N.W. No. 413 Washington 9, D. C. August 20, 1960 At the morning session of the Military Colle;ium of the Supreme Court, held on August 10, in connection with the Powers case, Defense Counsel Mikhail Grinyov continued to question the defendant. The laU ,her wanted to know if Powers, when he signed his contract with the Centrr.1 Intelligence Agency, knew that he would have to fly over Soviet territory. The defendant replied that he did not know this and that he learned of it for the first tine six or seven months after the contract was signed. Powers said that it was then that he was told that flights over the cerri.tory of the USS i, are part of 'bur duties." In reply to a qucstion by Grinyov as to what Colonel Shelton had told Powers concretely about the safety of fli?;hts over the USSR, Powers testified that he had been told such flights were absolutely safe. The only til_ ng that could happen was the technical failing of the plane. Grinyov asked Powers viiether he had ever before been given a poisoned pin, to urhic;h Powers replied that this was the first time. Li reply to Grinyov's question as, to whether Colonel Shelton had sh.o,rm him how to use the pin, Powers answered in the affir:.:at-ive. 'Tith this Grix~yov elided his questioning of the defendant. Then the State Prosecutor, the Prosecutor General of the USSR Roman A. Rudenko, continued to question the defendant. In reply to the question as to who had given hi-Ms permission to land his U-2 plane in Peshawar in 1.959, Powers re,21ied that he had been given this per- mission by the local authorities. The Prosecutor declared that the Pakistani authorities knew about Porkers' flight in 1951.', to which Powers reipli :d that "I suppose such was the case." Defendant Powers testified that a special. re ime had been established at the base of the 10-10 detachment in Peshal,,r in 1)59 and 1960. "Ile were not permitted to leave the base," Powers said. The reason for this, he thought, was that the U-2 planes and the apparatus they carried were secret. In reply to the -Iro3ccutor General's next question Powers admitted that by flying over the airspace of Afghanistan he had violated the sovereignty of that state. From Powers' testimony it was evident that he did not have permission from the states over whose territories he flew for the flights he made over them. Powers stated that he assumed no permission had been received for the flight over the territory of the bSSP... Potters said that this is con- firmed by the fact that ho was now on trial. Replying to the questions of Prosecutor General Puden