Kononovs to face new trial on war crimes

RIGA - As Nazi hunters await a pending trial of alleged Nazi war criminal Konrad Kalejs, the Latvian Supreme Court has turned its attention to former Red partisan Vasilijs Kononovs, ruling he must tried again on war crimes charges.

Kononovs, 78, was convicted early last year on genocide charges for the 1944 killing of nine people in a village in eastern Latvia.

But the Supreme Court last spring set him free following an appeal attempt and ordered further investigations. Last week the prosecutor general's office announced it is prepared to try Kononovs again. Kononovs was convicted of participating in the 1944 slaying of nine civilians in the village of Mazie Bati.

Kononovs was released April 25 last year and was granted Russian citizenship the same day but ordered to remain in Latvia.

The Supreme Court was not satisfied that the prosecutor's office had offered sufficient proof as to whether the victims in the attack were mere civilians or armed combatants.

"The additional investigation is finished and Kononovs has been charged with the same war crimes," said Dzintra Subrovska, spokeswoman for the prosecutor general's office. The day after his release last year, Kononovs told journalists that the international community had influenced the court's decision. He said he was surprised about the sudden judgment and added he would continue to fight for the truth, which he believes is on his side.

"I never tried to escape the investigation, even when I was advised to," he said. "Sooner or later, I will prove that the truth is on my side."

A Riga regional court had sentenced Kononovs to six years in prison for murder, and rejected the Russian Foreign Ministry's request to allow the Russian ambassador to Latvia, Alexander Udalstov, and medics to visit Kononovs while he was incarcerated. This refusal caused a further deterioration of relations with Russia, which had condemned the trial.

No court date has been set for the new trial. This time Kononovs will be charged with war crimes and not murder. If convicted, Kononovs could face life in prison.

The director of Latvia University's Human Rights Institute, Martins Mits, doesn't believe Kononovs will spend much time in prison even if he is found guilty.

"The reason is that this case is very politicized and the international media is following this case," Mits said. "I think the Supreme Court can feel this pressure."

So far, reactions from Russian diplomatic sources have been calm.

"The fact that all previous attempts to get him [Kononovs] convicted failed proves that the allegations in his case are groundless from a legal point of view," read a statement from the Russian Embassy in Latvia. "By groundlessly prosecuting this Red partisan, Latvian authorities are once again simply trying to present Nazi collaborators as lily white and reinterpret the outcome of World War II."