Accused Nazi War Criminal Lileikis Will Be Brought To Trial In A Very Short While

American Jewish Committee
Monday, 15 September 1997

In a meeting with AJC leaders in Vilnius, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gedimanas Vagnorius assured the group that alleged Nazi security police chief Aleksandras Lileikis will be brought to trial soon. The last impediment to that process is being removed, the AJC delegation was told, and other cases involving rehabilitated war criminals will also be re-examined and fully investigated.

An AJC-led delegation visited Lithuania last week to join in the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Vilna Gaon, the distinguished Jewish scholar whose works remain critically important to Jews around the world. The Lithuanian Parliament devoted a session to the commemoration, which included addresses by the Israeli Ambassador to Lithuania and the Chief Rabbi of Haifa.

In the one-hour meeting with the Prime Minister, AJC officials expressed concern that Lileikis has not yet been brought to trial in Lithuania, after having been stripped of his U.S. citizenship and deported . The Prime Minister said that efforts are being made in the Parliament to pass legislation needed to bring Lileikis to trial. "He will be brought to trial in a very short while," the Prime Minister stated, and further added that "there will be noticeable progress soon" on investigations into the cases of 17 other war criminals rehabilitated by the Lithuanian government since the country regained independence in 1990.

During the meeting with the Prime Minister, the AJC-delegation proposed the establishment of an historical commission to examine the true role of Lithuania during World War II, similar to those currently set up in Argentina, Switzerland, Belgium and Norway. The Prime Minister assured the group that he would seriously consider such a proposal.

AJC leaders had last met with Prime Minister Vagnorius in February 1997 when they traveled to Lithuania to check on the condition of thousands of centuries-old Jewish books and hundreds of Torah scrolls which had been discovered and were in the possession of Lithuania's National Library. The Prime Minister now noted that progress is being made on the cataloguing of these items and that some have already been transferred to the synagogue.

The AJC-led group included: Nicholas Lane, Chair of AJC's International Relations Commission; Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC Director of European Affairs; Dan Mariaschin, director of International Affairs of B'nai Brith; and Witold Zyss, B'nai B'rith's representative to UNESCO.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org