Prosecutors are reopening their investigation into wanted Nazi war criminal Milivoj Asner, whose past was exposed by a British daily having lived under a fake name in Klagenfurt for years.

Asner has agreed to make a statement in court but leading psychiatrist Reinhard Haller has claimed the Croat national is suffering dementia and is incapable of being questioned.

The 95-year-old is accused of assisting in the deportation of Jews, Sinti and Roma as a police chief in Croatia during the Second World War - which has gained him the number four spot on the list of the most wanted war criminals – but has been living undisturbed in Austria for years.

The country has refused to deport the 95-year-old though, saying that he is not healthy enough to be questioned.

However, British paper ‘The Sun’ published photos of Asner walking through Klagenfurt with his wife. The paper reported that Asner has confirmed his ability to provide a statement in a court.

The Prosecutors Office in Klagenfurt and the Provincial Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Anti-terrorism are now going to investigate exactly if and what Asner can say – which would usually be the basis of a potential extradition.

Sun reporter Brian Flynn said that he met Asner in his house and that Asner had a firm handshake and appeared perfectly sane.

Chief Physician Reinhard Haller, one of the authors of the original evaluation, said that he is prepared to re-evaluate Asner if the situation has changed. He did caution though that, "When a Sun reporter wrote that Asner appear to be sane, that is not an expert opinion."

austriantimes.at