Andrey Petrov on Vesti.FM: bringing the last Nazis to justice is necessary to establish the principle of non-applicability of statutory limitations in international law

The Russian Investigative Committee asked Canada to provide criminal case materials against a former Canadian citizen - 96-year-old Helmut Oberlander, a former interpreter of the SS Sonderkommando, that in 1942, massacred orphans in Kuban’s Yeisk, the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza, Andrey Petrov said in the National Question program on Vesti FM.

According to the analyst, in order to form an opinion on Helmut Oberlander’s and other Nazi centenarians’ cases, we need to find the answer to several questions.

"First, is it worth continuing the persecution of these old people, who are over 90, literally, on the verge of their death? My answer: yes. War crimes and crimes against humanity have no statutory limitations. If the guilt of such a criminal is proven, no matter how old he is - he must be punished. People say crime has no nationality - so, it’s worth saying that the crime doesn’t have an age either: decades have passed, but Oberlander’s and others’ guilt hasn’t become less”, Andrey Petrov said.

And the point here is not only that the war continues until the last war criminal is punished, although this, of course, is important. The point is that justice over the last Nazis is necessary to consolidate the very principle of non-application of statutory limitations in international law.

"Second, what to do with Helmut Oberlander? My answer: to extradite to the place of trial and serving a sentence, which is quite logical. The worst crime in which he participated - the killing of orphans in Yeysk in 1942, which means he must be sent there since we are talking about a war crime. The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don will determine his punishment. There is no death penalty in Russia, so you should expect a life sentence. The penal colony closest to Yeisk is in the village of Akhtarsky, there are no special conditions, " the expert stressed out.

“Third, is it worth expecting that Canada will extradite Oberlander? My answer is no. The Simon Wiesenthal Center put Canada on the list of countries that are not investigating the activities of Nazi criminals: Ottawa openly obstructs justice and drags out any procedures. I believe that Canada will simply wait until Oberlander’s death. And then, as I said, the principle of the statute of limitations for serious crimes will once again be discredited, " Andrey Petrov concluded.