News In Brief

Two more Latvians tried on anti-Soviet charges

Trial has started in Riga of two Latvians accused of anti-Soviet activity for spreading uncensored Latvian literature from the West, Latvian exile sources say.

Poet Gunars Freimanis and Gunars Astra face up to 10 years in prison if they are convicted. Both men have served previous terms for dissident activity.

Mr. Astra is accused of disseminating copies of a novel, ''Piecas dienas'' (''Five days''), a fictional account of a tourist visit to present-day Latvia. The trial follows a series of cases this year against Latvian religious activists.

Meanwhile, Estonian exile sources say three dissidents will be put on trial in Tallinn shortly for anti-Soviet activities that included an appeal for inclusion of the Baltic states in a Nordic nuclear-free zone. The trial comes shortly after a Finnish newspaper quoted a Soviet general as saying the Soviet Union could include the Baltic region in discussions of such a zone.