Artukovic’s Son Vows Appeal of Death Sentence

The son of convicted Nazi war criminal Andrija Artukovic today vowed to appeal his father’s guilty verdict, calling the Yugoslavian trial a “political charade.”

Meanwhile, the associate director of the Jewish Defense League, Earl Krugel, said in Los Angeles: “I think the firing squad is too good for him. I think he should be executed by the rope.”

Krugel said the JDL was overjoyed by the verdict and called it a vindication of JDL activities in seeking to bring Artukovic to justice for the past 15 years.

Rad Artukovic, 37, a Los Angeles stockbroker, said he wasn’t surprised by today’s death sentence because his father’s attorneys were not allowed to present a defense.

“By denying us the right to defend my father . . . they have created a record that doesn’t allow a defense, and therefore they found him guilty,” the younger Artukovic said in a telephone interview from his home. He called the court proceedings a “classical communist political show trial.”

Firing Squad Sentence

A five-judge panel in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, ruled that the 86-year-old Artukovic was guilty of ordering the killings of 231,000 Jews, Gypsies, Serbs and political prisoners during World War II. He was sentenced to death by firing squad.

Artukovic fought extradition for 36 years while living in Seal Beach, Calif.

His son vowed to appeal the ruling through the Yugoslavian justice system, although he expressed little hope for the outcome of any future hearings.

“It is unfortunate and it hurts deeply that my father must be a part of this . . . political charade,” he said.

“Even those people who believe my father is a war criminal have been cheated,” he said. “I think anyone who holds the principles of justice that we Americans in general do hold can’t feel good about such a verdict.”