Saturday,
February 16, 2008
"Beast of Balzano"
Returned to
The
ANNOTICO Report
1925
_ Michael Seifert, an ethnic German, is born in Landau, a German-speaking town
in the
1944-45 _ Seifert serves as an SS prison guard at the Bolzano Transit
Camp in northern
1945 _ Seifert drops out of sight after the camp is permanently closed with the
release of the last 3,500 prisoners.
1951 _ Seifert immigrates to
1951-1998 _ Seifert lives a normal life as an immigrant in
1999 _ Italian authorities notify Seifert that the government has charged him
with serious wartime offenses and that he faces prosecution.
2000 _ Seifert is tried in absentia before an Italian Military Tribunal in
Seifert
engages in a series of Appeals that are heard at successive levels winding up
in the Supreme Courts in
The
Italians are far too humane. They do not have the Death Penalty. Doctors
will determine whether Seifert is well enough to serve out his sentence in a
prison cell, or Seifert could be incarcerated in a hospital ward in the prison,
or put under house arrest in a person
Nazi Returns
in
February 16,2008
Michael Seifert used a cane
and leaned on the arm of a policeman as he walked with shuffling steps upon
arriving early Saturday at
A military tribunal in
He has acknowledged being a guard at the SS-run camp but denies being involved in atrocities. Seifert, who has lived in Canadasince 1951, had unsuccessfully fought efforts by the Canadian government to strip him of his citizenship based on allegations that he hid his past when he entered the country.
"Justice has been done," said Marisa Scala, who was a key witness at trial of Seifert, whose notoriety for cruelty earned him the nickname "Beast of Bolzano."
Prosecutor Bartolomeo Costantini said a medical exam will help determine if the elderly Seifert is well enough to serve out his sentence in a prison cell.
"His legs were a little wobbly after he got off the flight," likely due to the stress and the long journey, Costantini said by telephone. Seifert has a pacemaker but otherwise is apparently healthy, he said. If doctors deem it necessary, Seifert could be incarcerated in a hospital ward in the prison, or put under house arrest.
Scala, who was held for two months in the Bolzano camp, told Italian state radio that her memories were still strong of the convicted criminal: "chubby, with ruddy cheeks," and known as "Misha," the Ukrainian diminutive of his first name.
"I saw him kill a young man of 18 who was in the cell across from me," Scala recalled. "I saw Misha begin to torture this poor young man, sticking his fingers in his eyes. They tortured him for three nights."
"The third night, I
heard (the inmate) gasping, calling out,
Seifert "was always laughing. When they did those things they laughed," Scala said.
At his trial, witnesses testified that Seifert starved a 15-year-old prisoner to death and tortured a woman before killing her and her daughter.
In 1944 and 1945, the
Last month, Seifert lost a
bid to have the Supreme Court of Canada consider his appeal seeking to stop his
extradition to
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-02-16-italy-nazi_N.htm#uslPageReturn
The
ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (and are Archived) on:
Italia
Italia Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com (3 years)
Annotico
Email: annotico@earthlink.net