Former SS Captain Erich Priebke yesterday received a fiveyear prison sentence from a Rome military tribunal for his part in the March 1944 killings of 335 civilians, including 75 Jews, at the Ardeatine Caves near Rome. Priebke (83) was given a 15-year sentence for his part in Italy's worst wartime atrocity, but had that term reduced by 10 years because of "attenuating circumstances". Given that Priebke has been held in custody for three and half years since he was discovered in Argentina by an American TV crew in 1993, he is in fact likely to serve less than a year. Also sentenced yesterday for his part in the Ardeatine massacre was a former SS major, Karl Hass (84), who received a 10-year term, also reduced by 10 years because of attenuating circumstances, thus leaving him a free man. Both men had admitted killing two people at the Ardeatine Caves but both claimed they acted under orders and would have been shot had they disobeyed. Yesterday's verdict provoked contrasting reactions.
Rabbi Elio Toaff, a prominent figure in the Italian Jewish community, said: "I would have liked to think that the court would have condemned not only the individuals [Priebke and Hass] but also that which they represented, NaziFascism. Instead, it has been handled like any old trial . . . with attenuating circumstances being applied."
In contrast, Ms Giulia Spizzichini, who lost seven relatives in the massacre, said she was satisfied. "For us, it wasn't important that he [Priebke] get a heavy sentence, a life term or even capital punishment," she said. "No, what we wanted was that his name become a name of shame and that whenever his children have to say who they are, they feel ashamed at the name Priebke."
The prosecuting magistrate, Mr Antonio Intelisano, called the verdict "balanced".
Mr Giancarlo Maniga, the lawyer who defended the interests of relatives of the victims, said the verdict had established three fundamental principles: "Firstly, that the order to kill at the Ardeatine Caves was in itself a crime; secondly, that it was a crime to obey that order, and thirdly that to have obeyed that order remains a crime against humanity, a crime against which no statute of limitations can be applied."
The latter observation was a reference to the judgment handed down by a Rome military tribunal which tried Priebke a year ago. On that occasion, the court pronounced him guilty but went on to release him, primarily because of a 50-year statute of limitations. That verdict, subsequently overruled when a mistrial was declared, caused uproar among members of Rome's Jewish community, with relatives of the Ardeatine victims storming the courthouse and preventing Priebke from walking free. Later that night, the Italian Justice Minister, Mr Giovanni Maria Flick, ordered the rearrest of Priebke, allegedly because he was wanted for extradition to Germany.
While Priebke's trial would now appear to have come to a definitive legal conclusion, the life story of this former SS officer still prompts more questions than answers. Did he really, as he has often claimed, escape to Argentina from a British prisoner of war camp in 1948 thanks to a Vatican controlled "ratline" run by Bishop Alois Hudal of Hungary? How did he manage to live under his own name in Argentina for more than 45 years? Did Fascist sympathisers influence the handling of last year's controversial trial which so nearly saw him walk free?
The Priebke trial may be over, but uncomfortable questions remain.