H6: War Criminals

Issue Navigation:

 
Semyon Serafimovich

The first case that might soon use the War Crimes Act concerns Semyon Serafimovich. He was born in Byelorussia in 1910 and served in the Polish army. Serafimovich is alleged to have volunteered to serve in a police unit organised by the Nazis soon after they invaded the Soviet Union. In the winter of 1941 the Nazis appointed him as a district commander. He was based in Mir and was responsible for the whole area. Within a year, the 3000 Jews living in that region were all gone. The majority had been killed, some who were skilled labourers had been sent to labour camps and a handful had escaped to join partisan units.

The Crown case is that Serafimovich was a senior policeman and participated in the killings. In 1993 he admitted to the Metropolitan police that he was the man who the witnesses spoke of and he also admitted being at the killings, but he denies having played any part in them. There will soon be a hearing to determine whether he should be put on trial. If successful, he could then be tried using the 1991 War Crimes Act. Read the papers to find out what happens...

Gecas trial

In Edinburgh 1992, there was a court case involving a man called Gecas. He brought a libel case against Scottish Television which had shown a documentary that presented evidence of Gecas as a war criminal. He lost the case which implied that he was indeed guilty of war crimes, but as yet he has not been put on trial for his actions. To prosecute him, new evidence of a more intense and convincing nature must be compiled and submitted. It is up to the authorities whether to do this.

Next Page