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July 1998 |
Fray Antonio Puigjané
Late on June 12, 1998, the day before his 70th birthday, Fray Juan Antonio Puigjané was transferred from prison to house arrest. Argentine law provides for prisoners who are 70 years and older to serve their remainder of their prison sentences under house arrest.
Fray Antonio is serving an unjust 20-year sentence because an Argentine court presumed that he "should have known" about a planned attack on a military base in 1989. After serving nearly nine years in prison, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights concluded in a November 1997 report that the government of Argentina had tortured Fray Antonio and had violated his right to justice and to appeal his sentence to a higher court. The IACHR recommended that the Argentine government take the most appropriate measures to "repair the harm suffered" by Fray Antonio. After more than 9 years in prison, his immediate freedom is the only way to begin repairing the harm. Although house arrest is better than prison, Fray Antonio still has unjust restrictions on his movements.
Both Derechos Human Rights and Amnesty International has declared Fray Antonio a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of his beliefs. Religious groups, government officials, and thousands of people from around the world have called upon the Argentine government to release Fray Antonio.
Please send appeals to the Argentine government asking for Fray Antonio's immediate and unconditional release from house arrest. Appeals can be sent to: Sr. Presidente de la República Argentina, Dr. Carlos Saúl Menem, Casa Rosada, Balcarce 50, Buenos Aires C.F., Argentina
