Artukovic Is Able to Face Charges, Psychiatrist Finds

Andrija Artukovic, sought by the Yugoslav government for alleged complicity in the deaths of 770,000 Serbs, Gypsies and Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, is mentally competent to face extradition proceedings, according to a government psychiatric report made public Thursday in Los Angeles federal court.

Dr. Saul J. Faerstein described the 85-year-old Artukovic as suffering occasional memory loss and periods of confusion, but he concluded that the former Croatian government official has a “rational and factual” understanding of the charges he faces in Yugoslavia’s request for extradition.

Arrested Nov. 14

Artukovic, a resident of the Orange County community of Seal Beach since 1949, was arrested at his home Nov. 14. His attorney, Gary Fleischman, has contended that he is not competent to take part in the extradition proceedings, and U.S. Magistrate Volney V. Brown has scheduled a hearing Tuesday to resolve the issue.

The government has been trying for 30 years to deport Artukovic, a high-ranking official of the Nazi puppet state established during World War II. The government alleges that he helped implement policies that led to the deaths of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies and Jews. After the war, federal officials say, he entered the United States under a false passport.

Faerstein, a Los Angeles psychiatrist serving on a panel of psychiatric advisers in the federal courts, said he visited Artukovic on Dec. 27 at the Long Beach Naval Hospital, where the enfeebled Artukovic has been held in federal custody without bail.

The government’s psychiatrist, who had examined Artukovic four weeks earlier, said the accused war criminal has showed improvement in his general condition during his period of hospitalization.

Nonetheless, Faerstein made it clear that Artukovic has occasional mental problems resulting in “intermittent periods of confusion and disorientation.” He quoted hospital officials as saying that Artukovic became agitated on Dec. 22 and had to be sedated after deciding that he had been “kidnaped and held against his will.” On Christmas, he was placed in restraints after attempting to get out of bed and leave the hospital on his own, Faerstein added.

When Faerstein visited Artukovic on Dec. 27, according to the psychiatrist’s report, the former Croatian official was “alert, calm, friendly and cooperative.” Although he thought the date was “Dec. 29, 1999,” Faerstein said, Artukovic was aware of the relevant charges against him and knew that he was facing extradition to Yugoslavia.

“He believes that the present charges against him are lies being told by Serbs and Jews,” Faerstein said. “Mr. Artukovic insisted that he was innocent of the charges made against him, that he never ordered anyone to be killed. He insisted that he was morally respected in his country.”

Validity Questioned

While presenting Faerstein’s report, Assistant U.S. Atty. David Nimmer argued in a written response to the claims of Artukovic’s incompetency that the mental condition of the accused war criminal is not a valid issue in an extradition proceeding.

“It is not the purpose of an extradition hearing to afford the fugitive an opportunity to present evidence on the merits or otherwise mount a defense against the charges,” Nimmer said.

Nimmer said the scope of an extradition hearing is limited to a determination of whether a crime has been committed and whether there is evidence against the defendant.