Nazi War Crime Arrest in Hungary
- February 15th, 2011
- Posted by EUEditor
Prosecutors in Hungary have charged a former para-military officer Sandor Kepiro with involvement in the murder of more than 1000 civilians in Serbia, during the Second World War.
Kepiro, now 96, was tried and convicted of offences related to the crime in 1946, though denying the charges; he escaped serving a sentence, to go into hiding in Argentina.
After returning to Hungary in 1996 he was located by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, the organisation dedicated to investigating war crimes and bringing perpetrators to justice.
It complained of delays by the Hungarian authorities, but Jewish organisations have said now they are satisfied the process is to go ahead.
The charges have been made in relation to the 1942 massacre of Novi Sad, in Vojvodina, in which Jewish, Roma and Serbian people were shot.
“According to the charge sheet, Sandor K. was complicit in the execution of four innocent civilians in Novi Sad, Serbia, between January 21 and 23, 1942, as the commander of a patrol,” said a spokesperson for the prosecution (14.2.11).
The indictment carries detail of specific incidents in which the accused is said to have ordered troops to shoot groups of as many as 36 people at a time.
Hungary was allied with Germany during the Second World War.
Sandor Kepiro got to the top of the “most wanted†list as investigators searched through the names of wanted offenders who might still be alive.
Reference
Stefan Bos, Nicole Goebel, “War crimes:
Hungary charges former officer with wartime massacre in Serbiaâ€, Deutsche Welle, Bonn, 15.2.11. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,14842317,00.html, (15.2.11).
AFP, Paris, “Most wanted Nazi war criminal’ charged in Hungaryâ€, 15.2.11. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jH-gczxTMHEB48_pci1sxYF5kvrw?docId=CNG.26f85a77fe573d0130a10eb475c1a65e.411, (15.2.11).
Picture
Novi Sad memorial on the Danube River, flickr