JACOB ELCHANAN HAMMER, 33-YEAR-OLD JEWISH MERCHANT AND A POLISH CITIZEN, HAS BEEN EXECUTED AFTER A SECRET TRIAL ON CHARGES OF ESPIONAGE FOR SOVIET RUSSIA, THE JAPANESE-CONTROLLED MANCHUKUO POLICE ANNOUNCED TODAY.
THE AUTHORITIES NOTIFIED THE BOARD OF THE HARBIN JEWISH COMMUNITY THAT HAMMER HAD BEEN EXECUTED AFTER A COURT MARTIAL AND BURIED IN THE CHINESE CEMETERY. WHEN HIS BODY WAS EXHUMED TO BE GIVEN A JEWISH BURIAL, IT SHOWED EVIDENCES OF ILL TREATMENT AND VIRTUAL STARVATION.
HAMMER, WHO HAD LIVED HERE SEVEN YEARS, WAS ARRESTED TOGETHER WITH HIS WIFE AND SEVERAL OTHER PERSONS IN A SEARCH OF HIS SHOP NINE MONTHS AGO. THE OTHERS WERE SOON RELEASED. MR. AND MRS. HAMMER WERE HELD INCOMMUNICADO UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER, WHEN SHE WAS FINALLY FREED.
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