Hungarian's denial over war crimes
Source: Agencies |
May 6, 2011, Friday
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A 97-YEAR-OLD Hungarian man proclaimed his innocence yesterday as his war crimes trial began for the 1942 killings of civilians in Serbia.
Sandor Kepiro, a former gendarmerie captain, is charged by prosecutors with taking part in January 1942 raids by Hungarian forces in the northern Serbian town of Novi Sad, in which around 1,200 civilians were killed.
According to court papers, unidentified members of a patrol under Kepiro's command killed four people during a raid on January 23, 1942. Kepiro is also suspected of being involved in the deaths of around 30 others who were executed on the banks of the Danube River.
Serbia's war crime prosecutor, Vladimir Vukcevic, and representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal Center attended the start of the trial.
"This is a clear example that even after 70 years of a crime being committed ... a perpetrator can be brought to justice," Vukcevic said in a courtroom interview. "Justice is being served today."
Kepiro, who returned to Budapest in 1996 after living for decades in Argentina, acknowledged he participated in the raids but denied any responsibility in the killings.
"I am innocent and I am here on trumped-up charges," Kepiro said in court. "This trial is a terrible thing. There is no basis to this, everything is based on lies."
Kepiro, though looking very frail and needing assistance to walk, said he felt physically and mentally fit to stand trial. He said he was being put on trial "because I am the last survivor. Everyone else who was there is dead."
At the start, Kepiro sat with a sign saying "Murderers! The murderers of a 97-year-old man!" on his lap, which Judge Bela Varga told him to put away. Varga also ordered several Jewish students attending the trial to take off yellow stars pinned to their lapels or risk being expelled.
"It's clear that this is one of the last major trials" of Holocaust-era war criminal suspects, said Efraim Zuroff, the head of the Wiesenthal Center's Jerusalem office, who brought Kepiro's case to the attention of authorities in 2006.
In 1941, in the wake of the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia, Hungarian forces entered northern Serbia, which had been part of Hungary until World War I. In early 1942, these forces carried out raids to counter the growing number of partisan attacks.
Sandor Kepiro, a former gendarmerie captain, is charged by prosecutors with taking part in January 1942 raids by Hungarian forces in the northern Serbian town of Novi Sad, in which around 1,200 civilians were killed.
According to court papers, unidentified members of a patrol under Kepiro's command killed four people during a raid on January 23, 1942. Kepiro is also suspected of being involved in the deaths of around 30 others who were executed on the banks of the Danube River.
Serbia's war crime prosecutor, Vladimir Vukcevic, and representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal Center attended the start of the trial.
"This is a clear example that even after 70 years of a crime being committed ... a perpetrator can be brought to justice," Vukcevic said in a courtroom interview. "Justice is being served today."
Kepiro, who returned to Budapest in 1996 after living for decades in Argentina, acknowledged he participated in the raids but denied any responsibility in the killings.
"I am innocent and I am here on trumped-up charges," Kepiro said in court. "This trial is a terrible thing. There is no basis to this, everything is based on lies."
Kepiro, though looking very frail and needing assistance to walk, said he felt physically and mentally fit to stand trial. He said he was being put on trial "because I am the last survivor. Everyone else who was there is dead."
At the start, Kepiro sat with a sign saying "Murderers! The murderers of a 97-year-old man!" on his lap, which Judge Bela Varga told him to put away. Varga also ordered several Jewish students attending the trial to take off yellow stars pinned to their lapels or risk being expelled.
"It's clear that this is one of the last major trials" of Holocaust-era war criminal suspects, said Efraim Zuroff, the head of the Wiesenthal Center's Jerusalem office, who brought Kepiro's case to the attention of authorities in 2006.
In 1941, in the wake of the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia, Hungarian forces entered northern Serbia, which had been part of Hungary until World War I. In early 1942, these forces carried out raids to counter the growing number of partisan attacks.
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