The Medvid case (06/04/00)

The Medvid case

Following is the account of the Medvid incident published in the "1985: The Year in Review" issue of The Ukrainian Weekly (December 29, 1985).

The most heartrending event for the Ukrainian community that fought so hard for the freedom of a young Ukrainian sailor was the ill-fated defection attempt of Ukrainian seaman Myroslav Medvid. The handling of the Medvid case caused outrage not only from U.S. citizens and members of Congress, but also cast doubt worldwide as to the direction the U.S. government was taking in regard to defectors. Many critics contend the United States had failed to live up to the words attributed to the Statue of Liberty, the "Mother of Exiles": "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ..." And Ukrainian Americans nationwide loudly voiced their displeasure through demonstrations, telephone networks and letter-writing.

Rep. Fred Eckert, a Republican from New York, perhaps best expressed the feelings of the American people after Mr. Medvid was forcibly returned to Soviet custody. In a commentary published in The Wall Street Journal op-ed page on November 21, he wrote: "Somewhere out on the high seas the Marshal Koniev is carrying Ukrainian seaman Myroslav Medvid to the hell that awaits him back in the Soviet Union. The ship is also carrying away a full load of American grain. And pieces of Americas reputation, pride and honor."

Mr. Medvid had tried to defect from the Soviet Union by jumping from his Soviet freighter and swimming to the Louisiana shore near Belle Chase on the night of October 24. At about 7:30 p.m., Mr. Medvid ran into Joseph and Wayne Wyman.

On a piece of paper he wrote the word "Policia" and drew an arrow pointing to the words "Novi Orlean."

After the Wymans dropped Mr. Medvid off at the police station, the police, in turn, took him to the harbor police, who, took him to the Border Patrol of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Once at the INS offices in New Orleans, at around 11:45 p.m., the Border Patrol contacted a Justice Department interpreter in New York, Irene Padoch, in order to ascertain what Mr. Medvid wanted. It was during this conversation that the fate of Mr. Medvid was sealed. Although Mrs. Padoch stressed twice during this hourlong conversation that Mr. Medvid was seeking political asylum, and although the guards told Mrs. Padoch that no harm would come to the sailor and that they would get in touch with her the next day, within an hour after she got off the phone, Mr. Medvid was on his way back to the Marshal Koniev. For unknown reasons, the two INS Border Patrol officers told employees of Universal Shipping Agencies, a private shipping company, to return Mr. Medvid to Soviet custody. The two men hired a launch and set off for the Marshal Koniev.

Raymond Guthrie, the launch pilot, said of Mr. Medvid later, "I felt sorry for the seaman. He was kicking and screaming. He didn't want to go back." Mr. Medvid ran his fingers across his throat, a gesture which indicated he was afraid he would be harmed if returned to the Soviets.

When the launch came to the side of the Marshal Koniev, a Soviet officer talked to Mr. Medvid. The seaman became even more frightened, observers said, and he once again dove into the water and swam to shore.

In his commentary, Rep. Eckert wrote: "Soviet officers and the two U.S. shipping-company employees grabbed him. Mr. Medvid screamed, kicked, punched and bit, but he couldn't get free. They handcuffed him, with handcuffs that had been turned over to these private citizens - and, it turns out, to Soviet authorities, too - by the U.S. Border Patrol. Mr. Medvid then began to bang his head against rocks along the shore. He was overpowered again. Finally, he was returned to the Marshal Koniev."

Around 4 p.m. on October 25, after U.S. officials in Washington had allegedly been alerted to the Medvid case, the U.S. Border Patrol began watching the ship at the request of the State Department. Last visual contact of Mr. Medvid was made by a U.S. authority around 6:30 p.m. At 10:30 p.m., that same day, State Department officials arrived on the Marshal Koniev. Negotiations continued between the Soviets and U.S. officials on Saturday, October 26.

On that day, a series of medical and psychiatric exams were taken of Mr. Medvid. The final analysis was that Mr. Medvid had been injected with two of the strongest mind altering drugs used by the Soviet authorities, halidol and thorazine, according to the ship's doctor. It appeared to the American psychiatrist that Mr. Medvid had been threatened with violence to his parents if he did not return to the Soviet Union, and he was suffering substantial wounds to his left arm which was bandaged from the wrist to the armpit. However, blood or urine tests - standard procedures in any physical examination - were not taken by American doctors.

It also appeared that Mr. Medvid was hesitant to talk to authorities, according to the Russian translator who had been assigned to interpret discussions between Mr. Medvid and U.S. authorities. When later speaking on the phone with Mrs. Padoch, the interpreter said Mr. Medvid was reluctant to answer questions posed to him.

On October 29 Mr. Medvid signed a statement in Russian and English which stated he wished to return to the Soviet Union of his own free will.

On November 6 the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Helsinki Commission, called on President Ronald Reagan to take immediate action to determine if Mr. Medvid was seeking political asylum in the United States. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R.-N.Y.), chairman of the commission, said: "We cannot stand by and let the human rights of this individual be violated. Allowing the Soviet ship to leave U.S. waters without determining exactly what Mr. Medvid was seeking when he jumped into the Mississippi River in search of American authorities would be regrettable."

On November 7 the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Policy held hearings on the U.S. government's handing of the Medvid case. The government contended that the case was closed in light of Mr. Medvid's document stating he wanted to return to the Soviet Union. Sen. Gordon. Humphrey (R.-N.H.) however, insisted that Mr. Medvid be interviewed in an atmosphere free of Soviet coercion.

Alan C. Nelson, director of the INS, also testified and defended his agency. He stated that although human error had initially caused Mr. Medvid to be returned to the Marshal Koniev (he said the border patrol had misunderstood Mr. Medvid's desire for political asylum), he was proud of how the INS subsequently had handled the situation. To which New York Democratic Rep. Gary Ackerman replied, "As proud as you are of the case's handling, the Senate, the House and the American people are ashamed."

The Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the House Foreign Affairs Committee held its own hearing two days later.

On November 8, in an 11th hour attempt to save Mr. Medvid, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), the powerful chairman of the Agriculture Committee, issued a subpeona to the Marshal Koniev to have Mr. Medvid appear before the committee. The ship's captain received orders not to do anything and wait for Soviet authorities. The subpeona was not honored, and the next day the Marshal Koniev was allowed to sail out of U.S. waters with the Ukrainian seaman on board.

While the U.S. Congress was doing its part on behalf of the young sailor, the Ukrainian American community turned to legal means to try and prevent the departure of the Soviet grain freighter with Mr. Medvid aboard. The case was taken to the Supreme Court by attorney Andrew Fylypovych, but the highest court of the land, like the lower courts, refused to issue an order barring the ship's departure. Many of the Ukrainian American demonstrators gathered in Louisiana to stage protest actions openly wept as the ship set sail on November 9.

On December 6, Sen. Humphrey introduced a resolution that would create a seven-member Senate panel to investigate all aspects of asylum procedures. As of last count, the bill had 60 co-sponsors. It is expected to be voted on in the Senate early in 1986.

Meanwhile, new information indicated that there may actually have been two Medvids: one that jumped ship and another who was interviewed by U.S. authorities several days later.

One of the hopes which has been expressed for the Humphrey resolution is that the legislative branch of the U.S. government will investigate what really happened in the Medvid case and why so many blatant violations of government policy were made. While it may be too late to save Myroslav Medvid, observers say a thorough review of procedures and an independent investigation into the entire Medvid incident may prevent tragedy in other asylum cases.

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