Demands for a general amnesty for Nazi war criminals were rejected today by West German Justice Minister Hans-Jochen Vogel. “Why should murderers like this enjoy an amnesty today,” he said in a newspaper interview.
Vogel was referring to a call for amnesty recently by Franz-Josef Strauss, leader of the ultraconservative Bavarian Christian Social Union, who had said he has always had reservations about the legality of extending the statute of limitations on war criminals. The West German Parliament in 1969 extended the statute of limitation for war crimes from 20 to 30 years. It runs out next year.
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