William Nathan Oatis (January 4, 1914 – September 16, 1997) was an American journalist who gained international attention when he was charged with espionage by the communist Czechoslovakia in 1951. He was subsequently jailed until 1953.
Early life Born in Marion, Indiana, Oatis began his journalism career with his high school newspaper, studied at DePauw University for one year and in 1933 returned to Marion, where he worked for the Leader-Tribune. Associated Press obituary, September 16, 1997. In 1937, he started working for the Associated Press in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Oatis served in the U.S. Army during World War II, studying Japanese at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. In 1950, he married Laurabelle Zack, who worked in the AP's reference library in New York.Laurabelle Oatis. Larry T. Nix, Library History Buff Blog, February 1, 2009. (Accessed July 28, 2011.) The marriage took place in London.England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916–2005, v. 5c, p. 2419. Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916–2005 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office. © Crown copyright. Published by permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Office for National Statistics.
Arrest and detention Oatis was working as the AP bureau chief in Prague, 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.William N. Oatis, "Why I Confessed," Life, September 21, 1953, p. 131; p. 141. The case made international headlines, as well as leading to trade and travel embargos against Czechoslovakia.A petition for a "United Nations Writ of Habeas Corpus" was even filed with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on behalf of Oatis by attorney Luis Kutner. Luis Kutner, World Habeas Corpus, Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana, 1962, p. 244. 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 Indian charge d'affairs in Prague, Ramchundur Goburdhun. Those attending the trial noted when delivering his confession that Oatis spoke in a flat, emotionless voice.
On July 4, 1951, a Czechoslovak court sentenced Oatis to ten years in prison."Czechs Give Oatis 10 Years, Half Off for Good Behavior," New York Times, July 5, 1951, page 1. He was released May 16, 1953, shortly after the death of Joseph Stalin and after an angry letter from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the Czechoslovak government."The Press: A Letter from Ike," Time, June 1, 1953. The Czechoslovak government said it had been moved to pardon Oatis by a poignant plea from Oatis' wife, Laurabelle. Oatis contracted tuberculosis during his imprisonment and sought treatment shortly after his release."Oatis to be Treated in Sanitarium for TB," New York Times, May 27, 1953. 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 the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1990, after Czechoslovakia's "Velvet Revolution" the previous year, he was cleared again.Pace, Eric (September 17, 1997). "William N. Oatis, 83, of A.P.; Jailed by Prague in Cold War" (obituary), The New York Times.
Later career
Oatis went on to cover the United Nations for three decades and retired in 1984 after a 47-year career at the AP. He was elected president of the United Nations Correspondents Association in 1970.List of Past Presidents, UN Correspondents Association (Accessed August 1, 2011). In 1992, Oatis was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.William N. Oatis profile, Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.
Death
Oatis died September 16, 1997, at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, from complications of Alzheimer's disease.Eulogy by Jeremy Oatis. (Accessed July 29, 2011) 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.
Books
Notes and references
Further reading Edward Alwood, "The Spy Case of AP Correspondent William Oatis: A Muddled Victim/Hero Myth of the Cold War," Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, vol. 87, No. 2 (Summer 2010) pp. 263–280. William N. Oatis, "Why I Confessed," Life, September 21, 1953, p. 131. Slavomír Michálek: Prípad Oatis. Československý komunistický režim verzus dopisovateľ Associated Press. (Case Oatis. Czechoslovak communist regime versus Associated Press correspondent.), Bratislava, ÚPN, 2005, 293 pages, .
External links Associated Press Obituary Mention on Associated Press history page William N. Oatis Memorial Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame William N. Oatis profile, Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame Eulogy by Jeremy Oatis Eulogy by Jonathan Oatis