Another Appeal for Artukovic Is Turned Down
A federal court has rejected a second “extraordinary” appeal of the death sentence against convicted war criminal Andrija Artukovic of Seal Beach, the official Tanjug news agency reported Friday.
The appeal was submitted by the 87-year-old Artukovic’s lawyers on March 25 and was denied Thursday, the agency said.
Lawyers for Artukovic, who lived in Seal Beach before being extradited here, asked that the sentence be waived because their client is ill and senile, but the court denied the appeal after acquiring a medical report on his condition, Tanjug said. It did not elaborate.
Yugoslavian law provides for an unlimited number of “extraordinary” appeals for people sentenced to death after regular avenues of appeal are exhausted. But the sentence may be carried out at any time.
Yugoslavia charged that as interior minister in the Nazi puppet state of Croatia in 1941-45, Artukovic implemented policies that sent 700,000 Serbs, Gypsies and Jews to their deaths. It also specifically charged him with involvement in four murders.
He was convicted May 14 of war crimes and crimes against humanity and was sentenced to death on the same day.
Croatia is now part of Yugoslavia.
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