The Yugoslav Government made it clear today that it will explore all legal channels to renew its seven-year fight to gain extradition from the United States of Andrija Artukovic, a Croatian Hitler collaborator charged with the murder of thousands of Jews and others during World War II.
U.S. Commissioner Theodore Hocke ruled last week in Los Angeles that the charges brought by Yugoslavia were political in nature. It was held therefore, that Artukovic was not subject to extradition. Commenting on the decision, a spokesman for the Yugoslav Embassy said that Artukovic was a common criminal as well as apolitical and war criminal and Yugoslavia would muster all its legal resources to bring Artukovic to justice.
Commissioner Hocke held there was “no reasonable cause to believe Artukovic guilty of the crimes charged.” The 58-year-old Groat who served as Interior Minister and police head of the pro-Nazi puppet regime, was described as “jubilant” when the decision was announced.
The World Jewish Congress and Yugoslav Jews now residing in Israel took great interest in the Artukovic case. They charged that he was among the most extreme Nazi collaborators and personally active in the persecution and murder of Yugoslav Jews. The Roman Catholic Church supported Artukovic in the long legal fight.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
