Two journalists whose information led to the arrest of alleged Nazi war criminal Pieter Menten near Zurich last month will each receive a reward from The Netherlands government of 15,000 Guilders (the equivalent of about $6000), Justice Minister Andries Van Agt announced today.
The recipients are Dutch Jewish journalist Hans Koop, editor of the weekly “Accent,” which first published information leading to a warrant for Menten’s arrest, and Martin Walzer, a Swiss newspaperman who spotted Menten in the Zurich suburb of Uster where the multi-millionaire art dealer had fled to avoid trial in Holland. Koop alerted Dutch police to Menten’s whereabouts after being tipped off by Walzer. He reportedly paid Walzer a considerable sum of money for the information. Koop said today that he would donate his share of the reward to charitable organizations which he will name later.
Menten is accused of complicity in the deaths of hundreds of Jews and Poles while serving in a Nazi SS unit near Lemberg, Poland during World War II. The reward authorized by Van Agt is three times higher than any previously paid by the Dutch government for information leading to the arrest of a fugitive.
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