World Report

SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) -- An alleged Nazi war criminal died before he could be extradited to stand trial.

Konrad Kalejs, 88, who was appealing his extradition to Latvia, died Nov. 8 in his nursing home in Australia. He reportedly suffered from dementia.

For years, Kalejs has faced charges of being involved in the wartime slaughter of civilians when he was an officer in Latvia's pro-Nazi Arajs Kommando unit. The militia is held directly responsible for the deaths of some 100,000 civilians, including 30,000 Jews, between 1941 and 1943.

Reacting to the death, Britain's Lord Janner, a vice president of the World Jewish Congress and chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said, "I regret that Kalejs died before he was put on trial for his hideous crimes."