Toronto man added to list for deportation (08/11/96)

Toronto man added to list for deportation

by Andrij Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - Yet another man has been added to the active list for deportation proceedings by the Canadian federal government because of alleged participation in Nazi war crimes, bringing the total to six.

On July 17, the Justice Ministry's lawyers filed documents in Federal Court to initiate a denaturalization and deportation action against Wasily Bogutin, 87, of Toronto.

According to a Justice Ministry press release, Mr. Bogutin is charged with having "obtained citizenship by false representations or fraud or knowingly concealing material circumstances, in that he failed to divulge his membership in the Selidovka district police in German-occupied Ukraine during the 1941 to 1943 period, and his participation in the executions of civilians and arrests of civilians for purposes of deportation to Germany for use as forced labor."

The item also suggested that further details considering Mr. Bogutin's wartime activities would be filed in court in the coming weeks.

Bogutin denies charges

Through the press, Mr. Bogutin has denied the charges. According to a July 19 Toronto Star article, the man "admitted to working in a warehouse run by the local police, keeping inventory and records, but said he never wore a police or military uniform," and was never issued a weapon.

Mr. Bogutin also claimed that, as the son of a Jewish father and Ukrainian mother, he "warned other Jews to flee the Germans." The article by David Vienneau and Caroline Mallan related the accused's assertions that his father shortened his surname from Bogutinsky in order to escape Stalinist persecution.

Mr. Bogutin told The Star, "I am Canadian, I will stay," and vowed to fight the deportation action.

Another man on the government's case list, Johann Dueck of St. Catharines, is alleged to have been Mr. Bogutin's superior. Mr. Dueck is accused of being the deputy chief of the Nazi-organized police force, and of coordinating arrests, interrogations and executions of Jews and Red Army prisoners during the time of the German occupation.

A legal soap opera

Mr. Dueck's case has turned into a legal soap opera since it was initiated in May 1995. It was dismissed because of allegations of judicial interference on July 4, but the federal government, led by Justice Minister Allan Rock, filed an appeal of the dismissal on July 9.

In a July 9 Justice Ministry item, Mr. Rock was quoted as saying that "the government is committed to ensuring that justice is done and that our country does not become a safe haven for alleged war criminals."

A report on the alleged breaches of judicial independence is being prepared by former Chief Justice Charles Dubin.

The July 17 Justice Ministry press release also mentions that the ministry's "War Crimes Unit is continuing together with Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials in the preparation of further cases so as to fulfill the government's commitment to undertake at least 12 such cases by the end of April 1997."

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