|
VIENNA - The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center said Friday it has lodged a formal protest with Austrian authorities over their failure to arrest a Croatian-born man indicted for alleged war crimes and extradite him to his homeland for trial.
In a statement, the Los Angeles-based organization said it cannot understand why Milivoj Asner, 92, is not brought to justice because Austrian officials know he is living in the southern city of Klagenfurt .
"One can only wonder what has to happen before the Austrian government will finally turn over this Nazi war criminal to face trial in Croatia, the country in which he committed his heinous crimes," said Efraim Zuroff, the Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi hunter.
Austrian officials had no immediate comment on the center's complaint.
A former police chief in eastern Croatia , Asner allegedly enforced racist laws under Croatia 's World War II Nazi puppet regime, which persecuted tens of thousands of Jews, Gypsies and Serbs.
Last year, Croatia indicted Asner for crimes against humanity and war crimes in the city of Pozega in 1941-42.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has pressured authorities to bring Asner and other aging fugitives to justice as part of "Operation: Last Chance," an effort to get suspects arrested and tried before they die.
"Asner's age is no secret, and I believe that it is patently clear that every day that passes without practical progress only bring him closer to eluding justice," Zuroff said in letters sent to Austria 's justice and interior ministers.
Zuroff urged the two officials "to take whatever steps can possibly be taken to expedite his extradition to stand trial for his crimes."
"To do otherwise might appear to some an act of mercy, but there should be no mercy for those like Asner who had no sympathy for their innocent victims," he said.
In February, Austrian judicial officials said they were close to deciding on whether to arrest Asner, whose last name is sometimes spelled Aschner.
Officials had ruled in the past that Asner could not be handed over to Croatian authorities because he held Austrian citizenship. However, subsequent investigations by the state attorney's office in the province of Carinthia where Asner lives have
revealed that he no longer holds citizenship in Austria.
Haaretz
, 31.03.2006
|
