Robert Soblen Dr . Robert Soblen ( born Ruvelis Sobolevicius , also known as Roman Well ; November 7 , 1900 – September 11 , 1962 ) , was a prominent member of the pro - Trotsky Left Opposition in Germany in the 1930s . He moved to the United States in 1941 with his brother Jack Soble , and was arrested in 1960 as a Soviet spy . Convicted and sentenced to life in prison , he fled the U . S . while on bail and sought asylum first in Israel , then Britain . He committed suicide by overdosing on barbiturates when his last appeal for asylum in Britain was denied . Pre - trial career in Europe and the United States . Born in Vilkaviskis , Lithuania , both Soblen and his younger brother Jack ( born Abromas Sobolevicius , also known as Abraham or Adolph Senin ) , were important figures in Trotskyist circles in the 1920s and 1930s . They were very active in French and German Trotskyist movements , handling both Trotsky ' s secret correspondence to the Soviet Union and publication of his Opposition Bulletin . Jack Soble later claimed he and Robert began working for the Soviet Secret Police against Trotsky in 1931 . In 1932 , Trotsky broke with the brothers , and Robert joined Trotsky ' s enemies in the Communist Party of Germany . Soblen , Soble , and many members of their family moved to the United States in 1941 . According to Jack Soble ' s testimony during Robert ' s trial , they were personally granted permission for the move by NKVD director Lavrenty Beria , on condition that they assist in Soviet espionage activities in the United States . After arriving in the United States , Soblen set up a psychiatric practice in New York . According to testimony at his trial , Soblen ' s activities also included spying on the Trotskyist movement in the United States , and transmitting stolen intelligence documents and military information to the Soviet Union . Soble and Soblen Trials . Soblen ' s brother Jack was arrested in 1957 and charged with espionage , primarily based on the testimony of Hollywood producer Boris Morros . Morros first worked with Soble ' s organization providing business cover for Soviet agents , but later agreed to act as a double agent for the FBI . Soble pled guilty to the espionage charges , made a detailed statement of his activities , and was sentenced to seven years in prison . Robert Soblen was not indicted until 1960 . He was charged with providing the Soviet Union with secret OSS documents in World War II and photographs of a U . S . nuclear testing site in 1950 . Soblen pled not guilty . His trial , at which Jack was a primary witness , ended with his conviction , and on 7 August 1961 Soblen was sentenced to life imprisonment . Soblen , suffering from leukemia , was released on bail pending an appeal . His conviction was upheld by the U . S . Court of Appeals in March 1962 , and an appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected in June 1962 . Asylum attempts . Following the rejection of his last appeal , Soblen jumped bail and flew to Israel . Once there , he claimed Israeli citizenship as a Jew under Israel ' s " Law of Return " , and as an Israeli citizen asserted immunity to extradition . His claims were rejected and Soblen was deported from Israel to the United States on July 1 . During a stopover in London , Soblen slashed his wrist and abdomen with a dinner knife . He was removed from the airplane and hospitalized , after which he filed an appeal for asylum in England . His appeal was ultimately denied . On the day of his deportation , he took an overdose of barbiturates , and died on September 11 , 1962 . Aftermath . The Soble / Soblen trials revealed a great deal about Soviet espionage directed against Trotsky and his followers . They also revealed a number of aspects of Soviet espionage against the United States in the 1940s and 1950s , and were one of the more successful espionage prosecutions in the early Cold War period . The extent to which the VENONA decryption project assisted in the case is not clear . The project was never mentioned during either of the brothers ' trials , but according to Klehr and Haynes , a number of cables deciphered by the VENONA project mention Soblen under the covername ROMAN , the pseudonym he used in Germany . Soblen ' s expulsion from Israel was controversial enough to provoke a no - confidence vote against David Ben - Gurion ' s government . The vote failed , but the controversy may have contributed to the passing of Israel ' s " Offenses Committed Abroad Act " in 1978 , which sharply restricted the circumstances under which Israeli citizens could be extradited . Soblen ' s asylum request in England also generated controversy and calls for reform .