Southland Man Surrenders to Fight his Return to Face War Crimes Charges
Los Angeles Times,
March 11, 1958
An extradition hearing to determine whether Andrija Artukovic, former Croatian Minister of the Interior under a Nazi regime, will be extradited to Yugoslavia to face trial for alleged war crimes has been scheduled for June 16.
Artukovic surrendered yesterday to U.S. Judge Pierson M. Hall when a mandate from the U.S. Supreme Court ordering the extradition hearing was filed before the judge.
Artukovic had been at liberty on his own recognizance for the past four years after Judge Hall, who originally passed on the Yugoslavian demand for extradition, ruled that the extradition proceedings hinged on a question of political crimes rather than a straight criminal proceedings.
RULING UPHELD
Judge Hall ruled that the alleged crime, which according to the Yugoslavian government was that of ordering execution of numerous people during the Nazi regime, was a political crime and therefore Artukovic was not subject to extradition. Subsequently, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Hall's ruling, but recently the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling that an extradition hearing should be held.
Atty. George Danielson, representing the Yugoslav government asked that Artukovic be held on a bond of $50,000 pending the extradition proceedings, but Judge Hall set the bond at $1000.
"I don't believe that Mr. Artukovic is going to go anywhere," Judge Hall declared. "This matter has been before me for six and one-half years and every time Mr. Artukovic was scheduled to appear in court he has done so.
"He has a family - a wife and five children - and I don't think he is going to go anywhere."