VIENNA -- No decision has yet been
taken on the extradition of Milivoj Ašner because an expert
first needs to confirm whether he is able to stand trial.
The 95 year-old is accused of war crimes against Serbs, Jews, and Roma during
World War II.
The Austrian government has called
for a medical expert to confirm whether Ašner is fit to stand
trial before agreeing to extradite him.
Ašner, who lives in Klagenfurt, has
not been extradited to Zagreb because previous medical examinations
diagnosed him as unfit to face questioning or stand trial.
Having been spotted last summer walking
the streets of Klagenfurt during the European football Championships,
and giving an interview to a British tabloid, the case has
returned to the media spotlight.
The case has led the Simon Wiesenthal
Center to characterize Austria as a “paradise for war criminals”
and the center has asked for a foreign doctor to be called
in to evaluate the suspect’s health, because it does not
believe the opinion of the Austrian experts.
Joerg Haider, the infamous Austrian
right-wing politician and current governor of Carinthia,
has called on the government to leave Ašner, whom he describes
as a model citizen, alone and let him live out the rest of
his life in peace.
Klagenfurt prosecution spokesman Norbert
Jenny said several weeks ago that a Swiss doctor would be
examining Ašner to show that Austria was not protecting the
suspect.
However, the Swiss psychiatrist had
to cancel because of other obligations and the court is now
looking for another expert.
If Ašner is deemed able to stand trial,
he will first be questioned in Klagenfurt where all the documentation
concerning his extradition will be checked, said Austrian
Justice Ministry spokesman Thomas Geiblinger.
“It will be assessed whether there
are any real grounds for his extradition and whether the
human rights situation in that country is adequate. A fair
trial can be expected in Croatia,” he stressed.
The extradition would also require
Slovenia’s approval, through which Ašner would be extradited,
Geiblinger explained. b92.net
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