Artukovic Loses New Legal Round in Bid to Avoid Deportation
Accused war criminal Andrija Artukovic lost another round in Los Angeles federal court Thursday in his battle to avoid extradition to Yugoslavia to face charges that he ordered the mass murder of Serbs and Jews during World War II.
Chief U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real issued a brief order denying the 86-year-old Orange County man’s request for a writ of habeas corpus. Real upheld an earlier finding by U.S. Magistrate Volney V. Brown Jr., who ordered Artukovic’s deportation last year.
The defendant, legally blind and suffering a heart ailment, served as minister of the interior of the Nazi puppet state of Croatia in the war. He has been held in federal custody for the last 15 months.
Artukovic’s son, Rad, 37, said Thursday that Real’s ruling will be appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
That court on Thursday rejected Artukovic’s request for bail.
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