The World - News from Aug. 26, 1986

West Germany in 1983 refused a U.S. request to prosecute a man accused of the World War II murder of a 4-year-old Jewish girl in a Ukranian town because, among other reasons, the crime did not involve “cruelty,” according to Justice Department documents released in New York by the World Jewish Council. The United States had sought to deport Bohdan Koziy, a member of the Ukranian police who worked for the Gestapo, to Germany but needed a West German request for his extradition. Bonn characterized the crime as “manslaughter,” for which the statue of limitations had run out. It also argued that the crime did not take place in Germany and was not committed by a German citizen. Koziy fled to Costa Rica in 1985.