Karlis Ozols is accused of killing thousands of Jews, particularly in Riga and Minsk, between 1941 and 1944 as an officer in the Arajs Kommando.
There are similarities between Ozols and 86-year-old Konrads Kalejs: Both are alleged to have served in the Arajs Kommando, both are reportedly living in Australia, and both are now being investigated by the Latvian prosecutor general's office.
In fact, the two men's pasts and future have intertwined enough that the intense focus on Kalejs earlier this year has helped to shift attention towards Ozols.
"The criminal investigations have been initiated on the basis of materials acquired in the result of international co-operation concerning the investigation of war and genocide crimes as Mr. Ozols, residing in Australia at the moment, might have been involved in the above-mentioned crimes in Latvian territory during the World War II," stated a press release from the prosecutor general's office.
Those materials emerged from a conference held in Riga on Feb. 16-17, where six countries, including Latvia, met to discuss the case of Konrads Kalejs and other alleged World War II criminals from Latvia.
Ozols, meanwhile, is being investigated by the division of totalitarian crimes in the prosecutor general's office in accordance with articles 71 and 74 of the Latvian criminal code: genocide and war crimes.
However, he has not been charged.
"That is excellent news," said Efraim Zuroff, Israeli director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an organization dedicated to tracking those who committed crimes against humanity during World War II, and its chief Nazi hunter. "We certainly congratulate the Latvian government on this action."
Yet Zuroff said it has taken a long time for any criminal proceedings to be started against Ozols. He said he told the Latvian government about Ozols three years ago back when it was previously investigating Kalejs in 1997.
The Australian government's reaction was far more reserved.
"[It] is aware that Latvia has started a criminal case," said a spokeswoman at the Australian Embassy for the Baltics.
Zuroff said Ozols was actually very close to being tried in Australia in 1992 before domestic concerns intervened.
"The Australian Special Investigations Unit had recommended this case for prosecution, but unfortunately the attorney general effectively squashed the case for political reasons," said Zuroff.
Back then, questions had emerged about the effectiveness of the unit, which was started in 1987 to investigate alleged World War II criminals suspected of living in Australia.
Zuroff said the unit was disbanded in 1992; since that time, he frequently called on the Australian government to deport Ozols and Kalejs to Latvia.
Yet Australia is forbidden by law to deport citizens who have spent more than 10 years in their country before 1988, which applies to both men.
It has started working on an extradition treaty with Latvia and it hopes formal negotiations can take place during April.
Australia said it would like to have a treaty signed by the middle of this year and in force soon after, allowing for a proper parliamentary review by both countries. In December 1999, the Australian government also passed the War Crimes Amendment Act, which makes it no longer necessary to demonstrate a prima facie case against an alleged war criminal.
It said that this should make the extradition of alleged war criminals a lot easier, though in January the legislation had not been tested in court.
"[Ozols] is a better case than Kalejs, quite frankly. It should have happened years ago," said Zuroff.
According to him, there's a lot stronger evidence against Ozols than against Kalejs.
"All I can hope is Ozols is mentally and physically fit to stand trial," said Zuroff. "I can't think of a more worthy candidate for prosecution."
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