Top Nazi prosecutor assigned to Zundel case

Hearing begins today

Adrian Humphreys

THE Department of Justice has assigned its top Nazi war crimes prosecutor to represent the government at today's detention review hearing for Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, who is seeking refugee status in Canada.

Donald Macintosh, a senior federal government lawyer based in Toronto, has handled several high-profile immigration cases in Canada that involved allegations of war crimes committed in Europe during the Nazi era.

Dorette Pollard, director of communication for the Department of Justice, said Mr. Macintosh's appointment is not necessarily because of his experience in dealing with Nazi atrocities.

"It could simply be a question of workload. He is one of our capable lawyers, as they all are, in our immigration section," Ms. Pollard said.

It is not usual practice, however, for senior federal lawyers to represent the government at detention review hearings.

"Because of the nature of the case, a lawyer has been assigned," Ms. Pollard said.

Mr. Zundel, 63, has remained in detention in Niagara Falls, Ont., since United States immigration officials deported him to Ontario last week.

Mr. Macintosh has handled several of Canada's war crimes cases, including:

• Helmut Oberlander of Waterloo, Ont., who is awaiting a decision on his appeal of a deportation order. He is accused of being a member of the German Einsatzkommando, a Nazi squad that executed civilians, and then lying about his role when entering Canada.
• Conrad Kalejs, accused of being a leader of the Latvian Arise Commando, a group accused of murdering 20,000 Jews, was deported from Canada to Australia in 1997.
• Johann Dueck was accused of being deputy chief of a police unit that helped the Nazis round up and kill people in German-occupied Ukraine. He was found not guilty in 1998 of obtaining his citizenship by false representation and was later awarded $750,000 as compensation for the prosecution.

Mr. Macintosh's experience and knowledge of the Nazi record make his selection to handle Mr. Zundel's case a sound one, said Keith Landy, national president of the Canadian Jewish Congress.

"Mr. Macintosh is well-known to us for the prosecution of Dueck, Kalejs, Oberlander and others," Mr. Landy said.

"The more knowledgeable a person is to the views of the applicant it will allow for a deeper and more thorough inquiry into the veracity of the claims. And he is, by all accounts, a very professional and capable prosecutor. "

Mr. Zundel's attempt to be granted refugee status in Canada has caused outrage and officials in Ottawa are trying to ensure he does not resume residency here, where he lived from 1958 until he left voluntarily in 2001.

During his time in Canada, he published Nazi and neo-Nazi views, associated with white supremacists and sought publicity for his notion that Germany has been wrongly accused of killing six million Jews.

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