Authorities say Milivoj Asner, a suspected Nazi war criminal sought by Croatia, died June 21 in the southern Austrian city of Klagenfurt. He was 98. Austrian authorities had said Asner, a naturalized Austrian citizen, suffered from dementia and was not healthy enough to be extradited to Croatia for trial on alleged atrocities.
The Croatian-born retired police chief caused a stir three years ago when he was seen watching a soccer match in Klagenfurt. Critics contended Austria was sheltering Asner from Croatia, which wanted to try him for alleged World War II–era atrocities against Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. The Jerusalem-based Simon Wiesenthal Center called the refusal by Austria to extradite Asner “a travesty of justice.” — ap