Sweden arrests man in connection to Auschwitz sign theft
Swedish authorities say a man wanted in Poland in connection with the theft of a famous sign at Auschwitz has been arrested in Stockholm.
Prosecutor Agnetha Hilding Qvarnstrom says 34-year-old Anders Hogstrom was arrested Thursday on a European arrest warrant.
Qvarnstrom says Hogstrom will be appointed a defense lawyer and questioned by Swedish investigators before authorities can decide on extraditing him to Poland.
Polish officials have said Hogstrom is suspected of incitement to commit theft of a cultural treasure.
The sign was stolen in December from the site of the Nazis' former Auschwitz death camp in Poland. Polish police found the sign in the woods three days later, and charged five Polish men with its theft.
Earlier this month, a Polish court issued a European arrest warrant yesterday for a former neo-Nazi leader suspected in the theft of the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign at Auschwitz.
The sign - German for "Work Sets You Free" - was stolen in December from the site of the Auschwitz death camp in southern Poland. After a nationwide hunt, Polish police found the sign in the woods three days later, cut into three pieces, and charged five Polish men with its theft.
Lisak did not give any further details, but Polish prosecutors have previously identified Hogstrom as the mastermind of the theft.
It was unclear whether Hogstrom had chosen a lawyer to represent him in the case, but a trustee who represented him in other legal matters, Goran Wahlstrom, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Hogstrom was innocent and the victim of false rumors in the Swedish press. He declined to elaborate.
In the 1990s, Hogstrom founded and led the Swedish neo-Nazi National Socialist Front, according to experts on Sweden's extreme right. He later quit the group and spoke out against the movement.
Hogstrom has reportedly given conflicting information about his role in the theft. Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet quoted Hogstrom as saying he was acting as a middleman between the Polish thieves and an English-speaking buyer. But in a video clip posted January 9 on the Web site of another tabloid, Expressen, Hogstrom said he had simply been tipped off about the theft and tried to stop it.
The European arrest warrant is designed to speed up extradition within the European Union.
Prosecutor Agnetha Hilding Qvarnstrom says 34-year-old Anders Hogstrom was arrested Thursday on a European arrest warrant.
Qvarnstrom says Hogstrom will be appointed a defense lawyer and questioned by Swedish investigators before authorities can decide on extraditing him to Poland.
Polish officials have said Hogstrom is suspected of incitement to commit theft of a cultural treasure.
The sign was stolen in December from the site of the Nazis' former Auschwitz death camp in Poland. Polish police found the sign in the woods three days later, and charged five Polish men with its theft.
Earlier this month, a Polish court issued a European arrest warrant yesterday for a former neo-Nazi leader suspected in the theft of the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign at Auschwitz.
The sign - German for "Work Sets You Free" - was stolen in December from the site of the Auschwitz death camp in southern Poland. After a nationwide hunt, Polish police found the sign in the woods three days later, cut into three pieces, and charged five Polish men with its theft.
Lisak did not give any further details, but Polish prosecutors have previously identified Hogstrom as the mastermind of the theft.
It was unclear whether Hogstrom had chosen a lawyer to represent him in the case, but a trustee who represented him in other legal matters, Goran Wahlstrom, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Hogstrom was innocent and the victim of false rumors in the Swedish press. He declined to elaborate.
In the 1990s, Hogstrom founded and led the Swedish neo-Nazi National Socialist Front, according to experts on Sweden's extreme right. He later quit the group and spoke out against the movement.
Hogstrom has reportedly given conflicting information about his role in the theft. Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet quoted Hogstrom as saying he was acting as a middleman between the Polish thieves and an English-speaking buyer. But in a video clip posted January 9 on the Web site of another tabloid, Expressen, Hogstrom said he had simply been tipped off about the theft and tried to stop it.
The European arrest warrant is designed to speed up extradition within the European Union.
Haaretz
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