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NEWS
Jewish Community of Rome Furious Over Light Sentence for
Nazi Criminal
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
The Jewish community of Rome is irate over the light sentence
given to former SS officer Erich Priebke, who has been under
house arrest since receiving a life sentence. In 1998 an
Italian court tried Priebke, now 93, for his part in the
murder of 335 men and boys, including 75 Jews, at the
Ardeatine caves outside of Rome in 1944. He perpetrated the
act to exact revenge for an attack by Italian partisans in
which 33 German soldiers were killed. During the course of
the trial Priebke admitted involvement in the murder, but
claimed that had he not followed orders his life would have
been in danger.
Due to his advanced age and frail health the court permitted
him to serve his sentence in his apartment and now he is
being allow to go to work at the office of the attorney who
represented him. According to the court's decision, Priebke
is allowed "to go to work freely and to attend to errands
related to day-to-day needs," including having lunch outside
of the workplace.
Priebke fled to Argentina after the war and was extradited to
Italy in 1995. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which played a
central role in exposing him and having him extradited,
condemned the court's decision, calling it "an insult to the
victims' families."
"Any decision granting unwarranted rights to a war criminal
like Priebke, who was convicted and did not express remorse
for his actions, is outrageous and based on the assumption an
elderly man deserves sympathy," wrote Dr. Ephraim Zuroff,
head of the Israeli bureau. "The years that have gone by do
not take away from the accountability of the perpetrators of
the Holocaust, and people like him who displayed no mercy
towards their victims."
Italian politicians from the ruling party called for a
protest demonstration in response to the court decision. Pino
Segovio of the Communist Party called Priebke's release "an
insult to the memory, the city of Rome and the Italian Jewish
community, with which all of us identify." Rome Mayor Walter
Veltroni told reporters, "Rome cannot forget the events of
Ardeatine" and expressed solidarity with the rage among
family members of Holocaust victims.
Now it remains unclear what Priebke intends to do at the
attorney's office where he is slated to work. So far he has
already written a book of memoirs and the Italian media
speculates he will work on research for the writing of
another book.
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