A former officer in the German security forces, who two years ago was invited
to Estonia as an honorary guest of the government, has appeared
on a list of the ten most-wanted Nazi war criminals still
at large. Estonia claims he is innocent.
Harry Mannil, now living in Venezuela, has been implicated
in the deaths of hundreds of Jews during World War II. The
Simon Wiesenthal Center, which tracks Nazi war criminals,
has campaigned for his extradition and trial. They claim
that during the Nazi occupation of Estonia, Mannil was responsible
for hundreds of Jews and Communists being sent to their deaths
at the hands of the Nazis and their Estonian collaborators.
Harry Mannil admits working as a political police officer during the occupation,
but denies persecuting Jews or Communists. He
has downplayed his police career and says he
only joined “because they were looking for capable
young people with a talent for languages”.
Estonia has
conducted an investigation into Mannil’s past,
and insists that he has a “clean record”. The
Wiesenthal Center labelled this investigation
“a pathetic political whitewash”, and repeated
its calls for Mannil to be brought to justice.
The Simon
Wiesenthal Center's list of the 10 most-wanted
Nazis was released on Wednesday. Harry Mannil
is at number ten, accused of the “murder of hundreds
of Jews” during his time as an officer in Estonia’s
political police and the German security forces.
The Wiesenthal
Center last year criticised Estonia for removing
a Soviet memorial commemorating the victory over
Nazi Germany, calling the removal of the statue
an “insult to victims of Nazism”.
russiatoday.ru
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