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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: March 29, 2006 |
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A court on Monday convicted Algimantas Dailide, who was deported from the U.S. in 2003 for lying about his past, of helping the Nazis murder Jews but deemed the 85-year-old too frail to do jail time.
The Vilnius District Court said Dailide helped round up Jews for the Nazis as part of the Nazi-backed Vilnius security police during World War II, when nearly 90 percent of Lithuania's Jewish population was killed.
"The defendant was fully aware he was committing crimes against Jews, but did not personally take part in killings or torture," Judge Alvyra Kvaraciejute said. "For the last 60 years, he did not commit any crimes. Dailide does not pose a threat to society and is too infirm to serve a prison sentence."
Prosecutors had asked for a five-year jail sentence. The charge, officially titled "an action against civilians, prohibited by international law," typically carries a 5-20 year prison sentence.
Dailide, who traveled willingly from his current home in Germany to stand trial, denied the charges. The United States, where Dailide had lived since 1955 - in Cleveland and Florida - deported him in 2003 for lying about his wartime past.
"I have always said I did not kill anyone or help to kill (anyone)," Dailide said after the verdict was handed down. Defense lawyers have 20 days in which to appeal the ruling, but it was not immediately clear whether they would do so.
Prosecutor Rimvydas Valentukevicius said the verdict showed that Lithuanian officials were sincere about their pledge to convict Nazi war criminals.
"It's unfortunate he's too ill to serve any sentence," Valentukevicius said after the four-day trial. "Nevertheless, historical justice has been done."
Efraim Zuroff, head of the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center's Israel branch, sharply criticized the court's decision not to imprison Dailide.
"Once again Lithuania proved that it is totally incapable of punishing its own Nazi war criminals. This country is the safest haven in the world for a local Nazi war criminal," Zuroff said by e-mail from Jerusalem.
Several right-wing extremists watching the trial held signs saying "No proof of Dailide's guilt" and "Shame on Lithuania."
Most of Vilnius' 60,000 prewar Jews were killed in the autumn of 1941. Nearly 90 percent of Lithuania's prewar Jewish population of 220,000 were killed during the war.
Dailide is the third person to stand trial for aiding in the mass murder of Jews since Lithuania regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. None of the three elderly men has served prison time.
Aleksandrs Lileikis died before the court could pass judgment on him and Kazys Gimzauskas was found guilty of helping murder Jews but also deemed too infirm to serve his sentence. He died shortly after his trial. |
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