William N. Oatis | |
|---|---|
 Oatis in 1953 | |
| Born | William Nathan Oatis (1914-01-04)January 4, 1914 |
| Died | September 16, 1997(1997-09-16) (aged 83) |
| Occupation | Associated Press bureau chief inPrague |
| Notable credit(s) | George Polk Award (1952) President,UN Correspondents Association, (1970) Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame (1992) |
| Spouse | Laurabelle Zack Oatis |
| Children | Jonathan Oatis, Jeremy Oatis |
William Nathan Oatis (January 4, 1914 – September 16, 1997) was an Americanjournalist who gained international attention when he was charged withespionage by thecommunist Czechoslovakia in 1951. He was subsequently jailed until 1953.
Born inMarion, Indiana, Oatis began his journalism career with his high school newspaper, studied atDePauw University for one year and in 1933 returned to Marion, where he worked for theLeader-Tribune.[1] In 1937, he started working for theAssociated Press inIndianapolis,Indiana.
Oatis served in theU.S. Army duringWorld War II, studyingJapanese at theUniversity of Minnesota inMinneapolis. In 1950, he married Laurabelle Zack, who worked in the AP's reference library in New York.[2] The marriage took place in London.[3]
Oatis was working as the AP bureau chief inPrague,Czechoslovakia, when he was arrested on April 23, 1951. Deprived of sleep and subjected to continuous interrogation for 42 hours, Oatis signed a statement confessing to the charge of espionage.[4] The case made international headlines, as well as leading to trade and travelembargos against Czechoslovakia.[5] During his trial, he confessed to espionage on behalf of the United States, and somewhat more implausibly, on behalf of India, saying he collected intelligence on Czechoslovakia for the Indiancharge d'affairs in Prague,Ramchundur Goburdhun.[6] Those attending the trial noted when delivering his confession that Oatis spoke in a flat, emotionless voice.[7]
On July 4, 1951, a Czechoslovak court sentenced Oatis to ten years in prison.[8] He was released May 16, 1953, shortly after thedeath ofJoseph Stalin and after an angry letter from PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower to the Czechoslovak government.[9] The Czechoslovak government said it had been moved to pardon Oatis by a poignant plea from Oatis' wife, Laurabelle.[9] Oatis contractedtuberculosis during his imprisonment and sought treatment shortly after his release.[10] After his release, Oatis retracted his confession, and maintained that he merely cross-checked information with foreign diplomats such as his friend Goburdhun before writing a story.
A Czechoslovak court cleared him of all charges in 1959, but the decision was reversed in 1968 after theWarsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1990, after Czechoslovakia's "Velvet Revolution" the previous year, he was cleared again.[11]
Oatis went on to cover theUnited Nations for three decades and retired in 1984 after a 47-year career at the AP. He was elected president of theUnited Nations Correspondents Association in 1970.[12] In 1992, Oatis was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.[13]
Oatis died September 16, 1997, atLong Island College Hospital inBrooklyn, New York, from complications ofAlzheimer's disease.[14] He was survived by his sons Jonathan and Jeremy. His wife Laurabelle died of natural causes on June 19, 2012, at the age of 88.
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