A Swedish court in Gothenburg has refused a Polish request for the extradition of a Stalinist-era judge suspected of issuing unlawful death sentences to underground fighters in the 1950s.

Judge Mats Hagelin justified the decision by declaring that the crimes that the former judge, Stefan Michnik, allegedly committed in Poland decades ago were covered by a statute of limitations under Swedish law.

In October, a Polish court issued an European arrest warrant for Michnik, who is suspected of committing 30 crimes “bearing the hallmarks of crimes against humanity” in Warsaw in 1952 and 1953.

The ninety-year-old, who has Swedish citizenship, is the step-brother of Adam Michnik, editor-in-chief of Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper.

(mk/gs)