Nazi suspect's global journey

Australia was a refuge Mr Kalejs' had relied on

By Red Harrison in Sydney

The decision by an Australian court, that Konrad Kalejs can be extradited to Latvia, comes after the government in Australia insisted for years that he could not be prosecuted for war crimes allegedly committed outside the country.

Kalejs' journey

1950: Arrives in Australia

1957: Australian citizenship

1994: Deported from US

1997: Forced from Canada

2000: Flees Britain

2001: Extradited to Latvia?

But other countries, the United States, Canada, Britain and now Latvia, have not been deterred by such legal matters.

Konrad Kalejs carries some unusual distinctions: he is the first accused Nazi war criminal to be prosecuted successfully in Australia, though Latvia, not Australia, made the first move.

And this is the third time he has turned to Australia for refuge from the Nazi hunters who have been chasing him for years.

Konrad Kalejs would be the first person prosecuted for Nazi war crimes in Latvia

He came first in 1950, saying he was a mere farm worker during the war.

He worked in a refugee camp, where authorities concede now he might have helped other former Nazis to cover their tracks.

He became an Australian citizen but emigrated to the United States, where he spent more than 30 years making millions of dollars developing property.

But the past caught up.

Jewish organisations wonder if sending him for trial in Latvia is too little, too late

On the evidence of former concentration camp inmates, US immigration authorities concluded unequivocally that Kalejs was involved in the murder of thousands of people in Latvia.

Once deported, he tried living in Canada, but authorities there came to the same conclusion and sent him back to Australia.

He tried hiding in Britain briefly, but came back to Australia in December to avoid deportation.

Now Jewish organisations wonder if sending him for trial in Latvia is too little, too late.

At the age of 87, they say, the probability is that one of the last Nazis in the world will die peacefully in his bed in Australia.