123 Gleysteen, Culver: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union ( Kohler ) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 30—9:23 a. m.]
1096. Following note delivered to Foreign Office today (Deptel 273, April 28):
The Embassy of the US presents compliments to Foreign Minister and has honor state that in early evening April 12, 1949, Vice Consul Culver Gleysteen, official of American Consul[ate] General at Dairen, China, was arrested by 2 Chinese police and 2 Soviet soldiers at a point of land near Rokotan near Dairen, After being taken to a Soviet guardhouse nearby, to a Chinese police station in the same area, and to a Soviet camp in another part of Dairen, Vice Consul Gleysteen was finally taken to Soviet Kommandatura headquarters, where he was interrogated at length by Soviet officers.
Vice Consul Gleysteen was detained for a period of 4 hours during which time he was not permitted to telephone the American Consul General. The area where Vice Consul Gleysteen was arrested has never been publicly designated as a restricted area and he violated no known law or regulation.
[Page 874]The Embassy desires to point out that Vice Consul Gleysteen exercises his consular duties in Dairen in accordance with international law and practice and to emphasize that his arbitrary seizure and detention by Soviet authorities was carried out on the territory of the Republic of China.
The Government of the US protests this arbitrary violation of the privileges and immunities of Consuls established by international law and usage and requests from the Government of the USSR an explanation of this action and assurances that it will not recur.
Sent Department 1096, repeated Dairen 23, Nanking 50, Shanghai 10, Canton 17.