Auschwitz theft

Swede Anders Hoegstroem arrived in Warsaw on a Polish military aircraft Friday before being transferred to Krakow, where he faces charges of theft of the infamous sign. Krakow prosecutors hope to begin the hearing on Monday.

Hoegstroem's attorney Bjoern Sandin has said his client could receive up to 10 years in prison for charges of stealing, destroying and selling a cultural object of importance.

Polish justice officials indicted Hoegstroem in January for suspected involvement in the December theft of the infamous Auschwitz sign, which translates to "Work Will Set You Free." Authorities issued a warrant for Hoegstroem's arrest on February 2, and Swedish police arrested him nine days later.

Five other men have also been arrested in connection with the Auschwitz theft, and three have been tried and sentenced to terms of between 18 months to two and a half years. Two of the five have said Hoegstroem asked them to steal the sign.

Mastermind or middle-man?

Hoegstroem founded the Swedish neo-Nazi National Socialist Front in 1994, and led it for five years before quitting.

He has denied the charges against him, and claimed to Swedish media that his role in the theft was to act as a middle-man, passing the sign from the thieves to a buyer. He also claimed to have informed Polish police about who was behind the theft.

Authorities recovered the sign cut in three pieces, and returned it to the Auschwitz museum on January 21, less than a week before ceremonies marked the 65th anniversary of Soviet troops' liberation of the camp.

acb/epf/AFP
Editor: Catherine Bolsover