Wiesenthal Center Slams Cancellation by Slovenian Supreme Court of Conviction of Leon Rupnik, World War II President of Provisional Government of Ljubljana

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today sharply criticized the recent (January 8) decision by the Slovenian Supreme Court to annul the 1946 conviction of the notoriousanti-Semite Leon Rupnik, who headed the Provisional Government of the Nazi-occupied Province of Ljubljana and played a major role in the arrest and deportation of Jews from Ljubljana in 1943 and1944.

In a letter sent today to Slovenian ambassador to Israel H.E. Andreja Purkart Martinez, the Center's director of Eastern European Affairs Dr. Efraim Zuroff cited Rupnik's active participation inHolocaust crimes and criticized the shameful decision by the court.

According to Zuroff:

"This shameful decision constitutes a shocking distortion of the history of the Holocaust and a horrific insult to Rupnik's many victims and their families. We kindly request that youpromptly convey our protest to the pertinent Slovenian authorities so that the proper measures can be taken to undo the enormous damage wrought by this unjust decision of the Slovenian SupremeCourt."

For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center: Tel: 972-2-563-1274 or Tel: 972-50-721-4156, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal @EZuroff for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.


The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is anNGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).