[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13435-13436]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        SEEKING FREEDOM FOR AMERICAN TRAPPED IN BOLIVIAN PRISON

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2012

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Subcommittee on 
Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, which I chair, held a hearing 
to shine a spotlight on and to search for a resolution of the extreme 
injustice being perpetrated by Bolivian government officials against 
Jacob Ostreicher, an American trapped in the infamous Palmasola prison. 
Charged with crimes for which the Bolivian Government has produced no 
evidence, either of the crimes themselves or that Mr. Ostreicher 
committed either one, he is being denied the most fundamental due 
process and human rights both under Bolivian law and international 
human rights standards.
   On June 9, Sheri Rickert, my Staff Director on the subcommittee, and 
I went to Bolivia to meet with Mr. Ostreicher and to attend a court 
hearing for his release on bail which had been repeatedly delayed since 
September of last year. The testimony presented at the Subcommittee's 
June 6 hearing about this case revealed the repeated due process 
violations being committed by Bolivian officials.
   On June 11, I had the opportunity to witness some of them myself. 
Two attorneys from the Bolivian Ministry of Government, who I 
understand should not be intervening in the case, aggressively 
threatened to take legal action against the judge if he refused to 
recuse himself. Although the judge rightly rejected the ludicrous 
reasons on which the Ministry of Government attorneys based their 
threat, they accomplished their goal of having the hearing postponed 
and Mr. Ostreicher returned to prison.
   To underline the absurdity of the Bolivian judicial system, Mr. 
Ostreicher's case was then referred to a court where the judge is 
detained in the same prison as Mr. Ostreicher. It took fully six weeks 
for the hearing to be rescheduled in another court that has a judge. 
I've been told that, unfortunately, the same scenario as occurred at 
the June 11 hearing took

[[Page 13436]]

place again on July 23. The Ministry of Government attorneys injected 
themselves into the hearing and aggressively threatened the judge if 
she failed to recuse herself. The judge rejected out of hand the basis 
asserted for the threat, but again postponed the hearing and returned 
Mr. Ostreicher to jail.
   While in Bolivia, I met with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs 
Juan Carlos Alurralde, the Minister of Government Carlos Romero 
Bonifaz, and the Minister of Justice Cecilia Ayllon Quinteros to 
advocate for Mr. Ostreicher's release. Each one of them have made 
commitments with respect to this case but have not followed through.
   And in the meantime, Mr. Ostreicher continues to face daily threats 
to his life in the violent, unsanitary, drug-infested Palmasola prison. 
He has been on a hunger-strike since April 15, and he was already 
extremely frail and weak when I saw him over a month ago. Both a 
private and a Bolivian government doctor have examined Mr. Ostreicher 
and recommended that he be referred to a medical clinic for evaluation. 
Given everything else that has happened in this case, it is highly 
suspicious that the prison officials are unable to find police escorts 
to take him there.
   Although our own State Department officials are finally 
acknowledging that Mr. Ostreicher's due process rights are being 
violated, they continue to seem hesitant and uncertain about what 
action to take on his behalf. The State Department was invited to 
testify at yesterday's hearing, but indicated that they were not 
available to do so this week. I look forward to arranging a follow-up 
hearing at the earliest possible date when they are prepared to discuss 
their efforts in this case.
   Since undertaking my own advocacy efforts on Mr. Ostreicher's behalf 
in early June, I have received reports about several Americans who are 
imprisoned overseas and who are being denied their fundamental due 
process and human rights. Out of a sense of obligation to do all I can 
to help Mr. Ostreicher, but also to assist other U.S. citizens in 
similar situations, I am introducing legislation that will hold 
accountable those foreign government officials who are responsible for 
the violation of due process and human rights of imprisoned Americans.
   This legislation is entitled the ``Justice for Imprisoned Americans 
Overseas Act'' or ``Jacob's Law.'' It is premised on the principle that 
foreign government officials responsible for violations of fundamental 
due process and human rights of imprisoned U.S. citizens, as well as 
their immediate family members, should not have the privilege of 
traveling to the United States while our citizens unjustly languish in 
their prisons.
   The bill would prohibit the issuance of a visa and deny entry to any 
foreign government official who is violating, or failing to fulfill a 
responsibility to uphold, the rights of an imprisoned American. The 
legislation would also deny entry to such officials if the American 
dies from any cause while in prison. These visa and entry prohibitions 
would likewise apply to these officials' immediate family members.
   Entry to the U.S. would be denied only when an American's 
fundamental rights are being violated. Americans who violate the 
legitimate laws of foreign countries must accept the consequences of 
their crimes. But the United States cannot stand by and simply 
``monitor'' the case when our citizens are being held hostage contrary 
to international human rights standards.
   I would emphasize that already under current law, 22 U.S. Code 
Section 1732, the President must demand the release of any citizen who 
has been unjustly deprived of his liberty by or under the authority of 
any foreign government, and to undertake appropriate means to obtain 
the release of such citizen. This legislation provides the State 
Department with a tool that it should welcome in order to help it 
fulfill this responsibility.
   We were privileged to have with us yesterday two attorneys who are 
representing Mr. Ostreicher in the Santa Cruz courts. I would like to 
thank them for coming all the way from Bolivia to participate in this 
hearing on Mr. Ostreicher's behalf. We also received an update about 
the case from Mr. Ostreicher's wife, Ms. Miriam Ungar, and his 
daughter, a constituent who resides in my district in New Jersey, Ms. 
Chaya Weinberger. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to 
Mr. Stephen Moore, a retired FBI special agent who has spent 
considerable time and effort investigating Mr. Ostreicher's case and 
who interrupted his book tour in Washington State in order to join us 
yesterday.

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