The Athens Jewish Community filed a court action here yesterday, seeking an injunction against a new law that would grant amnesties to Nazi war criminals.
Actually, there is only one such criminal serving a prison term in Greece. He is Max Merten, a German lawyer, who is serving a 25-year prison term, after being convicted for war crimes. The new law, however, approved this weekend by the Parliamentary Recess Committee, would not only grant amnesty but would also prevent any further prosecutions for atrocities committed in this country under the Hitler regime.
The Jewish Community acted immediately, because the law would become effective, and Merten would be freed at once, if and when the King signs the new law.
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.
