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Poland asks for US help in extraditing alleged Nazi

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 09.05.2017 12:45
Warsaw has asked the US to assist in an ongoing case against an alleged former Nazi officer by extraditing him to Poland.
The headquarters of the US Department of Justice. Photo: Wikimedia CommonsThe headquarters of the US Department of Justice. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Poland has appealed to US authorities for help in a bid to extradite a Ukrainian-born man accused having been a Nazi officer during WWII, Polish Radio said on Tuesday.

He faces charges of committing crimes against the Polish people.

Poland’s State Attorney's Office has asked the US Department of Justice to conduct a medical examination of Michael Karkoc, a 98-year-old man born in Ukraine but a resident of the US since 1949.

Karkoc was identified by Poland in March as being a notorious officer of the Ukrainian Self-Defence Legion – the 31 battalion of Schutzmannschaft German Security Police (Sipo).

He is accused of being the commander of the Legion when it burned down two villages in south-eastern Poland in July 1944 killing a total of 44 people including women and children.

Polish prosecutor Robert Janicki said he was “100 percent” certain that the suspect is Mykhailo Karkoć, who went into hiding following WWII.

It is not known when the Polish prosecutor's office will receive a response from the US authorities, Polish Radio said, adding that Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said that they generally do not comment on extradition proceedings.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a global human rights organisation researching the Holocaust and hate crimes, has said it supports Poland in its efforts to bring Karkoc to justice. (rg)

tags: WWII
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