A press attache of the Argentinian Embassy here told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Thursday that Jaime Lockman-known to be the first Argentinian Jew to be arrested after the 1076 military coup-was detained on charges of “youth political indoctrination for the ‘Montoneros’ terrorist group (and) acting as financial agent for the terrorist group ‘Comandos Revolucionarios’ through the use of a checking account on the First City National Bank of the city of Parana.”
In a letter addressed to Joseph Polakoff, the JTA Bureau Chief in Washington, the Argentinian official, Hernan Massim Ezcurra, said that he was responding to a JTA report in which it was alleged that Lockman remained in prison without formal charges filed against him. The report also expressed fear that Lockman would not be able to survive the harsh prison conditions because of his heart condition. After his arrest, Lockman was transfered to Dawson prison in South Argentine, known for its harsh conditions.
“With regard to Mr. Lockman’s health,” the letter by Ezcurra stated, “this Embassy has been informed that he has a coronary condition with a soft systolic murmur. He is being treated with persantin and valium. According to his last periodical medical check up (June 28, 1979), he has been found to be in good physical condition. “The Argentinian official also claimed that Lockman, who had been a car dealer in Cordoba, was detained June 15, 1976 by “order of the Executive National Power according to decree 941.”
According to Morton Rosenthal, director of the Latin-American Affairs Department of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, no formal charges have been filed against Lockman and the Argentinian government refused four times Lockman’s request to leave the country. The right of option clause in the Argentinian constitution, Rosenthal noted, guarantees the right of emigration for citizens held in prison without being charged with a crime.
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