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When in March 1911 the body of a young
Christian boy is found in Kiev, the Czarist authorities
seize the opportunity to revive the age-old accusation of
ritual murder. A Jewish inhabitant of Kiev, Mendel Beilis,
the superintendent of a brick kiln, is arrested and
charged, although by that time the authorities already
know the true perpetrators.
For more than two years, Beilis remains in prison while
the authorities try to build a case against him by
falsifying papers and pressurizing "witnesses."
But the case backfires. In October 1913, the jury
unanimously declares Beilis not guilty.
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