Evening star., 1953-05-16


tremely grateful to those in the
State Department and the As
sociated Press who have been so
helpful and understanding dur
ing these trying months"
Frank j. StarZel, general man
ager of the A. P, commented:
Free people everywhere will
rejoice when Bill Oats is freed
from incarceration. His crossing
the border from Czechoslovakia
will bring both the greatest relief
and the fullest satisfaction to his
associates and friends, who have
always felt that he was innocent
of any wrongdoing."
Mr.. Oats father. j. Ross Oats,
said at Phoenix, AriZ.:
II only hope it is true"
Arrest Denounced.
Mr.. Oatis' arrest had been de-
nounced by statesmen as well as
the press in virtually all the
areas of the world where free
speech exists. Many organiza-
tions in the United States in the
last two years took action urging
the State Department to press
for his release.
An indication of the esteem
his fellow journalists hold for
Mr.. Oats came a year ago when
the Overseas Press Club of Amer
lea named him to receive its
annual George Polk Memorial
Award "for courage, integrity and
enterprise above and beyond the
call of duty"
Western newsmen made the
point that Mr.. Oats, in the
actions which his Czech prose-
cutors described as spying. was
merely seeking facts which fall
within the category Of ordinary.
thorough reportorial activity in
the United States.
Other NewSmen Withdraw.
Mr.. Oats arrest led the two
or three other Western reporters
then in Prague to withdraw and
there have been no American
newsmen since 1851 in the coun-
try that was founded with United
States backing.
American and allied troops
freed Czechoslovakia of it's Nazi
rulers at the close of World War
II, but the Communists took over
the country in 1948. Subse-
quently two A. P. correspondents
were expelled. Mr.. Oats, then
assigned as a reporter to the
A. P.'s London bureau, succeeded
the second expelled correspond
ent in 1850. He undertook the
assignment enthusiastically, and
early in 1851 was looking for
ward to a time when Mrs. Oats
could join him in Prague.
Shortly before he was arrested
April %, 1851, by three Czech
agents, Mr.. Oats told American
officials he thought he was be-
ing followed. It was not until
April Is that the arrest was an
nounced by the Czechoslovak
government.
No Counsel Allowed.
He was held incommunicado
for SO days in Prague's grim
Pankrac Prison and then tried
by five-man court. United
States Embassy requests to see
him or to provide him with coun-
sci were turned down. No west
ern newsmen covered Mr.. Oats
two-day trial, but one United
States Embassy observer was
permitted to attend.
The State Department labeled
the typical Communist hearing
a sham and a mockery of ele-
mental justice"
Mr.. Oats admitted-in a
feeble voice and as though he
were reciting a memorized con-
fession-that he had engaged in
espionage. The public prosecutor
charged he was particularly
dangerous because of his discre-
tion and inSistence on obtaining
only accurate, correct, verified
information"
This statement brought bitter
protests in the west, since it
tended to confirm that Mr.. Oats
had been jailed simply for per-
forming what would be a normal
job of thorough news reporting
in free countries.
Sentenced on Fourth of July.
It was American independence
day, July 4, 1851, when the
Prague court sentenced Mr.. Oats
to 10 years in prison, with the
provision he would cut five years
off that by good behavior. Three
Czech nationals who worked for
the A. P. were tried with Mr..
Oats. They drew 16- to 20-year
sentences.
Among the last stories Mr..
Oats covered in Prague were
the Punishment from that capi-
tai of the Roman Catholic arch
bishop, Josef Beran. and the
disappearance of Vlado Glenn
entis, former foreign minister,
later hanged for espionage.
United States officials were
not permitted to see Mr.. Oats
until a year after his arrest.
The American Government
made a series Of reprisal moves
to obtain his release. first ban
ming travel to Czechoslovakia for
all American citizens. Later 1t