Burial Of Erich Priebke Refused By Argentina And Rome

Burial Of Erich Priebke Refused By Argentina And Rome

The government of Argentina is turning down the burial of Erich Priebke on its soil. This comes as authorities in Italy revealed that no church funeral or burial will be allowed for the convicted Nazi war criminal in Rome.

The order to refuse the return of the body of Priebke was given by Hector Timerman, foreign minister of Argentina. Priebke passed away at the age of 100 years in Rome recently. In 1995, he was extradited from Argentina to Italy and was put on trial for the massacre of civilians in 1944 by Nazi forces.

The massacre was implemented as retaliation for the death of Nazi military members due to an attack by fighters from the resistance. Erich Priebke insisted that he was following orders when he shot two people. He was convicted and sentenced to life under house arrest at the house of his lawyer, Paolo Giachini, in Rome.

Erich Priebke requested to be buried close to his wife in Argentina. However, Argentine authorities indicated that the people of Argentina find the offense to human dignity unacceptable. The former captain of the SS was refused a church funeral or burial by the mayor of Rome, the Roman police chief, and the right-hand-man of the pope.

The archdiocese of Rome indicated that the funeral should be done at the home of Giachini. However, Giachini refused this arrangement and insisted on a private church mass. The churches in Rome were not given permission to hold the mass.

Giachini indicated that Priebke has become an example of loyalty, courage and coherence due to the dignity he used to withstand all the persecution he had to endure.

Erich Priebke escaped from a prison camp in Italy in 1946 and lived for around fifty years in Argentina before he was found by a US television program.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday October 16 2013, 3:03 AM EDT. Ref: Fox News. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0