JURIST - Paper Chase: Former Nazi guards living in US may face trial abroad

[JURIST] Serbian prosecutors confirmed on Friday that they are gathering evidence for a case against an alleged World War II Nazi guard currently living in the United States. Peter Egner, 86, has admitted to serving in the Nazi-run Security Police and Security Service, a unit which is believed to have taken part in the killings of over 17,000 people in the area surrounding German-occupied Belgrade. On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint [PDF text; JURIST report] in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington [official website], seeking to revoke Egner's US citizenship. Egner became a US citizen in 1966 but failed to disclose his Nazi service on his citizenship application. The DOJ argued that he was ineligible for citizenship both because of his service and because he concealed that information on his application. AP has more.

Also Friday, the Spanish National Court granted a petition [JURIST report] by rights group Equipo Nizkor [advocacy website] to hear a case against four former Nazi officers for alleged war crimes committed during World War II. The suit was brought on behalf of a concentration camp survivor and families of three who died at the camp. Under Spanish law, the country's courts can exercise universal jurisdiction [HRW backgrounder] to try those suspected of genocide and other serious human rights offenses even if they occur abroad. The four named in the suit, Johann Leprich [DOJ press release; JURIST report], Anton Tittjung [AP report], Josias Kumpf [DOJ press release] and John Demjanjuk [JURIST news archive], are currently in the US under deportation orders. AP has more.

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...