Lithuania seeks war crimes extradition

State prosecutors in Lithuania have said they'll shortly be asking Britain to extradite an eighty-five-year-old man for trial for war crimes.

The man, Anton Gecas, who now lives in Edinburgh, lost a libel case in 1992 against a television programme, which accused him of atrocities against Jews in Lithuania and Belarus when he led a police squad during the Second World War.

A Scottish judge then ruled that Mr Gecas had committed war crimes against innocent civilians.

But Scottish prosecutors brought no charges because of lack of evidence.

Now Lithuanian prosecutors say they've uncovered evidence to justify extraditing Mr Gecas for trial.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service