Berlin policeman suspended

A Berlin policeman was suspended after investigators found right-wing extremist paraphernalia in his apartment. A police spokesperson said the 33-year-old man was suspected of assisting in the production of some of the material, including CDs, DVDs and T-shirts with the name of the right-wing extremist band Deutsch-Stolz-Treue, “German-proud-loyal,” on them. — jta

Escapee from Nazi prison camp dies

British war veteran Peter Vernon-Ward died last week after refusing treatment he said would have constituted “giving in to the Nazis.” Vernon-Ward’s death at 86 was the result of complications from injuries he sustained in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp during World War II.

After enlisting in the British army at 17 to fight the Nazis, Vernon-Ward was captured in Germany and Nazis smashed rifle butts into his legs when he refused to work as a slave laborer. Eventually, he and others escaped the prison camp, located in southern Poland near Auschwitz, and were rescued by U.S. forces.

He recently had been warned by doctors that his legs must be amputated to avoid his being slowly poisoned from his wounds, which ruptured three years ago. The war veteran refused the operation because he saw it as “giving in to the Nazis.” He died in his sleep of blood poisoning. — jta

U.K. issues ultimatum on Israeli officer

Britain reportedly has given Israel an ultimatum for prosecuting an army officer accused of killing a British journalist in the Gaza Strip. The Foreign Office in London last week reissued a demand for Israel to try Capt. Hib al-Heib, whose unit was patrolling the town of Rafah when James Miller, a documentary filmmaker, was shot dead there in 2003. Footage from the scene suggested Israeli troops shot Miller, but Israel’s Judge Advocate-General closed the case citing lack of evidence.

The U.K. Times reported over the weekend that the Foreign Office gave Israel until Tuesday, Aug. 7, to comply with its demand for a trial and threatened to prosecute Heib in a British court if necessary.

— jta

Shop closed for selling neo-Nazi fashions

A clothing shop at the famous Berlin Alexanderplatz was shut down for selling neo-Nazi fashions.

The store’s landlord closed the shop in the Berlin cooperative housing association, canceling the rental agreement with the boutique “Tønsberg” last week after discovering the store sold clothing under the label “Thor Steinar,” which is popular with right-wing radical youths. The proprietors have until Jan. 31, 2008 to clear out. Because of a legal conflict over the eviction, the landlord would not comment on the case. — jta