Wiesenthal Center: 9 countries not chasing Nazi criminals

Syria, Austria, Lithuania among countries that center says “refuse in principle to investigate suspected Nazi war criminals because of legal restrictions.”

By GIL STERN STERN SHEFLER
John Demjanjuk 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Lukas Barth/Pool)
John Demjanjuk 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Lukas Barth/Pool)
Syria, Austria and Lithuania are among nine countries where Nazi war criminals are not being brought to justice, the Simon Wiesenthal Center said on Sunday.
These nations either “refuse in principle to investigate, let alone prosecute, suspected Nazi war criminals because of legal (statute of limitation) or ideological restrictions,” or their “efforts (or lack thereof) have resulted in complete failure during the period under review, primarily due to the absence of political will to proceed and/or a lack of the requisite resources and/or expertise,” according to the center’s annual report card examining efforts to track down perpetrators of crimes against Jews during World War II.
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The other countries named by the Wiesenthal Center in its report were Sweden, Norway, Canada, Estonia, Latvia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Efraim Zuroff, the head of the Wiesenthal Center’s operations in Israel, said the trial of Dr. Sandor Kepiro, who is suspected of committing war crimes against Jews in 1942 while in the Hungarian police, is set to start on Thursday.