First Accused War Criminal in Australia Goes on Trial

A 74-year-old resident of Adelaide has become the first person to face prosecution under Australia’s new war crimes legislation.

Last week, Ivan Polyukovich was formally charged by the director of public prosecutions with complicity in the murders of more than 850 persons in the Nazi-occupied Ukraine in 1941 and 1942.

He is alleged to have been “knowingly concerned” in the murders of “Jews from the Serniki Ghetto” and the murders of 24 other people, including five children from the villages of Serniki, Alexandrove and Brodnitsa.

The accused has not yet entered a plea but has denied to the news media that he was implicated in the crimes.

Parliament passed the War Crimes Amendment Act, under which Polyukovich was charged, in December 1988. It has been controversial since its inception.

The measure was the outcome of long campaigning by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry to change the law, so that Nazi war criminals found living in Australia could be brought to justice.

Canada adopted a similar act in 1987 and the British Parliament passed a law at the end of 1989 which allows the prosecution of war criminals in British courts.

But the legislation here provoked a bitter debate. Opponents maintain that the delay in bringing alleged war criminals to trial has made fair trials unlikely.

The Jewish community argued that past governments abrogated morality by failing to take firm action to prevent Australia from becoming a haven for Nazi fugitives.

But while welcoming the legislation, the community has been circumspect in commenting about individuals facing war crimes allegations.