SCHAKOWSKY AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT TO USE OPPORTUNITY TO HOLD NAZI WAR CRIMINAL ACCOUNTABLE

In a letter to Ukrainian President H.E. Leonid Kuchma, Schakowsky and more than 20 of her colleagues urged the President to take in Koziy, who is a Ukrainian native, and to consider this opportunity to hold him accountable for his crimes.

They wrote, " Since Mr. Koziy is a native of Ukraine, it is our hope that your government will cooperate with the government of Costa Rica and take in Mr. Koziy. In the interest of justice, we urge you not to prevent Mr. Koziy from returning to Ukraine and consider the opportunity presented by the Government of Costa Rica to hold him accountable for his crimes."

Koziy was stripped of his U.S. citizenship in 1982 after his identity was revealed, and he was identified as a Nazi war criminal. He took part in numerous anti-Jewish crimes in the Ukraine and was a member of the Nazi-run Ukrainian police.

The members added in their letter, "He was found by a U.S. Federal Court to have single-handedly murdered a 4 year-old Jewish girl by shooting her at point-blank range as she pleaded with him for her life outside a police station in Lysiec, Ukraine, in the autumn of 1943. German courts have also found that he personally carried out this and other crimes."

A copy of the letter is attached.

{attached}

March 23, 2000

The Honorable H.E. Leonid Kuchma
President of Ukraine
Kiev, Ukraine

Dear Mr. President:

Bohdan Koziy is a Nazi war criminal who has enjoyed undeserved sanctuary in
Costa Rica for the past 15 years, and now that government has ordered him to
leave the country.

Since Mr. Koziy is a native of Ukraine, it is our hope that your government
will cooperate with the government of Costa Rica and take in Mr. Koziy.

He was stripped of his American citizenship in 1982 after his identity was
established in U.S. courts and confirmed by the German government. He was
found by a U.S. Federal Court to have single-handedly murdered a
4 year-old Jewish girl by shooting her at point-blank range as she
pleaded with him for her life outside a police station in Lysiec, Ukraine,
in the autumn of 1943. German courts have also found that he personally
carried out this and other crimes.

He also took part in numerous other anti-Jewish actions during the war as a
member of the notorious Nazi-run Ukrainian police. The Office of Special
Investigations of the U.S. Justice Department attempted to expel him from
the country but Koziy fled to Costa Rica in 1984 before his court-ordered
deportation to the Soviet Union could be carried out.

In the interest of justice, we urge you not to prevent Mr. Koziy from returning to Ukraine and consider the opportunity presented by the Government of Costa Rica to hold him accountable for his crimes. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Jan Schakwosky
Member of Congress

List of Members' Signatures-Kuchma-Koziy:

Congressman Tom Lantos

Congressman Anthony Weiner

Congressman Jim McDermott

Congressman Jerrold Nadler

Congressman Lloyd Doggett

Congressman Martin Frost

Congressman Charles Rangel

Congresswoman Constance Morella

Congressman Jim McGovern

Congressman Mark Foley

Congressman Stephen Horn

Congressman Elliot Engel

Congressman John Porter

Congressman Robert Wexler

Congressman Frank Pallone

Congressman Sherrod Brown

Congressman Henry Waxman

Congressman Bob Franks

Congresswoman Nita Lowey

Congressman Joe Crowley

Congressman Rod Blagojevich