Sean Penn in direct appeal to Bolivia's leader

(AP) Sean Penn has made a direct public appeal to Bolivia's president to order the immediate release of a New York businessman who has been jailed for 18 months without charge and who helped uncover a shakedown ring led by prosecutors.

Penn made the appeal at a news conference with Jacob Ostreicher on Wednesday, a day after an appeals panel sent the man's case back to a lower court. The actor interceded on Ostreicher's behalf in late October, and a government probe subsequently yielded eight arrests, with more expected.

Penn thanked President Evo Morales for ordering the investigation. He called the shakedown ring a cancer attacking at Bolivia's heart and creating an existential crisis for Morales.

Penn said that he would complain to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights if necessary.