U.S. "ready to extradite Nazi to Serbia"

U.S. "ready to extradite Nazi to Serbia"

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=08&dd=06&nav_id=61000
6 August 2009 | 17:21 | Source: Beta

BELGRADE -- The U.S. is prepared to extradite its citizen Peter Egner to Serbia, the War Crimes Prosecution has announced.

Egner is suspected of committing war crimes in occupied Belgrade during the Second World War.

"We have received assurances that Egner can be extradited to Serbia, without first being stripped of his American citizenship. All we must do is send an extradition request," prosecution spokesman Bruno Vekarić was quoted as saying in Belgrade on Thursday.

He specified that the Serbian representatives heard these assurances recently when they traveled stateside, for meetings on future cooperation between the two countries in processing war crimes cases.

The text of a cooperation memorandum was also harmonized on that occasion, and will soon be signed, Vekarić revealed.

Serbia's judiciary started an investigation against Egner almost a year ago, and planned to send a request for his extradition once his American passport had been revoked.

Egner, an ethnic German from Vojvodina, is suspected having been a member of the Nazi German Gestapo police in Belgrade, where in late 1941 he took part in taking people to concentration camps, with the goal of exterminating the Jewish population.

This resulted in the death of 150,000 victims.

He is also suspected of, from late 19412 until mid-1942, working as a guard and securing transports of several groups of Jews to the Old Fairground camp.

For similar crimes committed during the WW2 Nazi occupation, the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution has started investigations against Sandor Kepiro, who now resides in Hungary, and Croat Milivoj Ašner, now holding Austrian citizenship