A convicted Dutch war criminal who found refuge in Argentina may be extradited to serve the 20-year sentence he evaded when he escaped from a prison in Holland nearly 40 years ago.
Jan Olij, 68, was arrested Wednesday at his home in the Buenos Aires suburb of Isidro Casanova. He has been a naturalized citizen of Argentina since 1952.
Olij was picked up on a request made by Dutch legal authorities through Interpol, the international police agency. The Netherlands is expected to request his extradition formally.
Although Argentina does not extradite its nationals, Olij could be stripped of his citizenship if it can be proven he concealed his war crimes conviction when he applied for it.
A Dutch special war crimes tribunal found him guilty in 1949 of collaborating with the Nazis, He was sentenced in absentia. By then he had already escaped from jail, made his way to Spain and eventually to Argentina.
Olij was accused, among other things, of informing on young Dutchmen who went into hiding to avoid forced labor.
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.
