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Groups Protest Court
Insinuations On Demjanjuk

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Washington (JTA) — In the
wake of an appeals court
decision this week overturn-
ing the 1985 extradition of
John Demjanjuk, some Jew-
ish officials here are pro-
testing insinuations by the
court that the Justice
Department bowed to
pressure from Jewish inter-
ests.
In its ruling on the Dem-
janjuk case, a federal ap-
peals court in Cincinnati
said attorneys from the
Justice Department's Office
of Special Investigations,
which is responsible for
prosecuting suspected Nazi
war criminals, worked very
closely with "various inter-
est groups."
"It is obvious from the
record that the prevailing
mind set at OSI was that the
office must try to please and
maintain very close rela-
tionships with various inter-
est groups because their con-
tinued existence depended
on it," the decision said.
The decision also mention-
ed that Allan Ryan Jr., who
was then the head of OSI,
had gone to Israel in 1986 on
a lecture tour sponsored by
the Anti-Defamation
League.
The appeals court ruled
that Justice Department
prosecutors had committed
fraud by withholding
evidence while obtaining
Mr. Demjanjuk's extradition
order to Israel.
Mr. Demjanjuk was later
tried and acquitted in Israel
of being the Nazi death camp
guard "Ivan the Terrible."
ADL National Chairman
Melvin Salberg and Nation-
al Director Abraham Fox-
man responded angrily to
the decision.
"It is absolutely mind-
boggling for the court to im-
pugn OSI's integrity by sug-
gesting that their handling
of the case was tainted in
any way by a 'mind set' of
needing 'to please and main-
tain very close relationships'
with groups like the Anti-

Demjanjuk out of the United
States.
The American Jewish
Committee is also upset by
the court's ruling.
"The panel's opinion was,
in a word, offensive,"
Samuel Rabinove, AJCom-
mittee's legal director, said.
"We say the suggestion
that the deportation of Nazi
war criminals" is "solely a
concern of 'interest groups'
rather than a policy that
stands on its own moral

The AJCommittee
called on Janet
Reno to Deport Mr.
Demjanjuk.

weight is repugnant," Mr.
Rabinove said.
AJCommittee is calling on
Attorney General Janet
Reno to deport Mr. Demjan-
juk.
Rep. Charles Schumer,
D-N.Y., contacted Ms. Reno
urging her to appeal the
decision to the Supreme
Court.
Mr. Schumer said in a
statement, "After reading
the court decision I'm in-
furiated at what is as close to
blatant anti-Semitism as
I've ever seen in a legal opi-
nion.
"The court doesn't under-
stand that the Office of Spe-
cial Investigations that
tracks down war criminals
exists because there are
Nazis in America, not be-
cause there are Jews in

THE DETRO

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said in a statement.
"We stand four square
behind the OSI," they said.
ADL has communicated
with the Justice Department
to express the group's
outrage over the court's sug-
gestions, as well as to urge
the department to take
prompt action to get Mr.

40,

John Demjanjuk at his trial.

America," Mr. Schumer con-
tinued.
Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.,
who also has been outspoken
on the Demjanjuk issue,
released a statement
Wednesday criticizing the
decision and its
"allegations" about OSI.
At a news conference, Ms.
Reno repeated a position she
had taken, saying that the
Justice Department was re-
viewing the appeals court
decision.
She also reiterated that
the department intended "to
effect Demjanjuk's prompt
removal from the United
States as soon as we deter-
mine his legal status."
Actions of the controver-
sial Justice Department unit
have already been the sub-
ject of government and court
reviews.
The attorney general said
that the entire department
was currently being re-
viewed to see how efficiently
it functioned, and that the
department wanted to try to
comply with the "highest
ethical standards."
Appellate Judge Pierce
Lively wrote the decision,
and was joined by Judges
Gilbert Merritt and Damon
Keith.
The judges said the Justice
Department's actions con-
trasted negatively to the be-
havior of Israeli prosecutors.
"The 'win at any cost' at-
titude displayed by some of
these record documents and
statements contrasts sharp-
ly with the attitudes and ac-
tions of the Israeli pros-
ecutors, who were under

