Pieter Menten, the Dutch art dealer who fled to Switzerland last month to avoid arrest on war crimes charges, was returned to Amsterdam by special plane last night and is now under detention pending his trial which is expected to begin in March. Menten is accused of murdering hundreds of Jews and Poles while serving as an officer in an SS unit near Lemberg, Poland during World War II.
He was arrested Dec. 6 in Uster, near Zurich and reportedly tried to commit suicide by swallowing pills. Menten, 78, described as a multimillionaire, fought extradition proceedings on grounds that the 20-year statute of limitations provided by Swiss law in war crimes cases has expired.
But Swiss authorities found the evidence against him too strong and expelled Menten yesterday under a 1965 decree that authorizes the expulsion of any person whose presence endangers Swiss security. The Netherlands government promised, however, that Menten would not be extradited to a third country for trial. He had expressed fear that he would be sent to the Soviet Union in whose territory the scene of his alleged war crimes now lies. Israel also said it would ask for Menten’s extradition so he could stand trial there.
Menten has engaged a defense attorney, Bernard F.J. Simon of Utrecht, Holland, a well known criminal lawyer. Simon claims he is Jewish and that he spent several years in Nazi concentration camps. He lived in the U.S. and Canada for 13 years after the war. Jewish circles here said that Simon was unknown to them and expressed doubt that he is Jewish.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
