Ostreicher says he has given the court documentation proving the legal origin of his business’s funds and submitted proof from Interpol that Zolty has never run afoul of the law.
Bolivian authorities apparently were not convinced. In March, one federal prosecutor told AP that the case was still in its “preparatory phase.”
Ostreicher’s wife says State Department officials have told the family only that they are monitoring the situation and have raised the case with the Bolivian foreign minister.
By launching his hunger strike, in which he drinks only water, Ostreicher is trying to turn the case into a humanitarian issue. The family has not tried to enlist Jewish organizations to lobby on Ostreicher’s behalf because they want it to be a diplomatic, not a parochial, issue.
(JTA)
