HC Deb 16 March 2000 vol 346 cc289-90W
Mr. Winnick

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Latvian authorities regarding the prosecution for war crimes of a Latvian citizen who had fought against the Nazis. [114938]

Mr. Vaz

We are aware of the case of Vassily Kononov, which is currently the subject of an appeal at the Supreme Court of Latvia. The matter is still sub judice.

Mr. Winnick

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Latvian authorities regarding the non-prosecution of Nazi war criminals. [114939]

Mr. Vaz

We take our international obligation to bring to account those responsible for war crimes very seriously and have been in the forefront of international efforts to achieve restitution for victims of Nazi persecution. While the UK has no jurisdiction in the case, we have been assisting the Latvian authorities with their inquiries into Konrad Kalejs. A team of three Metropolitan police officers attended a meeting in Riga on 16–17 January to discuss this case with officers from Australia, Canada and the United States. Latvian police officials have been invited to London to examine material on war crimes in Latvia held by the Metropolitan police.