Soviet Official Says One Dissident at Reagan Reception Was Ex-Nazi

A Soviet dissident who attended a reception hosted by President Reagan was denounced by a Soviet spokesman on Tuesday as a former Nazi agent and war criminal.

Spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov identified the individual only as “Roshko”--an apparent reference to Nikolai Roshko, who was among the 96 dissidents and Jews refused permission to emigrate who met with Reagan on Monday at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Moscow.

Reagan, when asked by a student at Moscow University on Tuesday why he had met “a fascist,” said he knew nothing about it.

The student later told U.S. reporters his information was based on a Soviet news report on the presidential reception, held as part of a concerted human rights campaign by Reagan during his first visit to the Soviet Union.

Gerasimov, pressed to explain at a news briefing, said Soviet reporters had uncovered the man’s background by reviewing “the dossiers” of Reagan’s guests.

“It appeared that our dossier was better than that of the FBI,” he said. “It appeared that one of the guests was a policeman during the occupation of our country by Germany (during World War II).”

The Soviet spokesman, who announced the man’s name later in the briefing, added that Roshko was sentenced to 25 years in prison for “torturing and murdering Soviet citizens” and freed under an amnesty.

Although a White House guest list for the reception showed 96 names and reporters present saw that many there, Gerasimov said “not more than 40 people” met with Reagan and implied there would be more embarrassing disclosures about the group.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said he had no idea if the Soviet charge was true.