Born 1908, place of birth unknown
At the age of 32 he became Commissar of the Interior in Soviet Latvia. He served as Commissar of the Interior from 1940 to 1953, and as Commissar of State Security and the NKWD (predecessor to the KGB) he participated in numerous deportations. In 1949 alone he is said to have personally ordered 41,544 deportations. For this he was awarded a military decoration, the “Medal of the Red Flag”. He retired in the 1950s. His unchallenged life ended in 1994 when he was arrested in Riga. Accused in 1993, and in December 1995 charged by the Riga District Court with genocide, crimes against humanity, ordering the execution of political prisoners, personal participation in torture, requisition and other crimes, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in prison three months after the sentence was pronounced. During the process he admitted his responsibility for the deportations but only in as much as he was obeying orders.

Born in 1955, place of birth unknown
In 1991 the married man with five children began his political activities in Rwanda. He was president of a local section of the Mouvement Démocratique Républicain (MDR, Democratic Republican Movement) and from 1993 to his escape in 1994 was Mayor of the Taba commune. After he was arrested on October 10, 1995 in Lusaka he was transferred on May 15, 1996 to the UN tribunal in Arusha. On October 2, 1998 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for directly participating in genocide and as the representative of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, ICTR, for inciting and committing genocide, extermination, murder, torture, rape and other crimes against humanity. On December 9, 2001 he as extradited to Mali and imprisoned there.

Born 1968 in Pittsburgh
He was a particularly religious and active member of a Protestant church in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. In civilian life he worked as a prison attendant. The 23-year old man also served in the Iraq War in this capacity. His participation in the mistreatment and torture of prisoners is documented in numerous photos. Amongst other things he was charged with conspiracy to mistreat prisoners, assaults on prisoners and indecent actions in the Abu Ghraib prison, and in 2005, pronounced guilty by a military court in Fort Hood for nine of the ten charges.
The tribunal sentenced him to a ten-year prison sentence and ordered his dishonorable discharge from the army. Also directly after the trial he attempted to justify his actions. Although he knew, as a Christian, that he had behaved wrongly, but as a soldier he had to obey and unconditionally carry out orders from superiors. He had no proof of the orders.

Criminal offenses

The offenses were generally committed in awareness of diverse ideological, racist and religious points of view. They were not (at least ostensibly) committed for individual gain.

List of elements of crime on which the charges and verdict were based:
Crimes against humanity, cruelty, torture, rape, rape as a form of genocide, indecent acts, mistreatment, criminal medical interventions and experiments, killings, executions, genocide, murder, deportations, expulsion, abductions, kidnappings, disappearance by force, arbitrary detention, random arrests, inhumane living conditions, forced labor, membership in a criminal organization

The following judicial authorities issued arrest warrants and/or the quoted verdicts*:

Re: Born on November 23, 1897 in Haag
Arrest:
British Army, 1945
Trial:
Nuremberg Doctors’ Trial, US Military Court, 1947
Re: Born 1908, place of birth unknown
Arrest warrant/charge:
Judicial authority unknown, 1993
Trial:
District Court, Riga, 1995

Re: Born on December 11, 1911 in Engershausen
1. Turned himself in:
Public Prosecutor Bielefeld, 1952
Germany, court unknown, year unknown
2. Arrest warrant/charges:
Regional Court Frankfurt, 1963
1. + 2. Trial:
Jury Court Frankfurt/Main, 1st Frankfurt
Auschwitz trial,
1963–65
3. Arrest warrant/charges:
Germany, judicial authority or court unknown,
year unknown
3. Trial:
Regional Court Bielefeld, 1989

Re: Born January 10, 1912 in Münzkirchen
Arrest/charges:
US Army, 1945, Public Prosecutor,
District Court Krakow,
Instytut Pamieci Narodowej,
IPN, in Katowice
Trial:
Supreme Court Poland-Krakow Auschwitz process, 1947

Re: Born on October 25, 1913 in Bad Godesberg
1st, 2nd and 3rd arrest warrant/charges:
France, judicial authority or court unknown,
year unknown
1st, 2nd and 3rd trial/verdict:
Military court in Lyon, 1947, 1952 and 1954
2. Arrest warrant/Charges:
France, judicial authority unknown, 1982
3. Trial:
Jury Court Departement Rhone, 1987

Re: Born (presumed) on May 19, 1928 in the province of
Kompong Thom
Disempowerment/charges:
Khmer Rouge (Ta Mok), 1997
Trial/Verdict:
Khmer Rouge, Khmer Rouge Peoples’ Tribunal, 1997

Re: Born on July 7, 1930 in Tuzla
Charges:
International Criminal Court of the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), 2000
Trial/Verdict:
International Criminal Court of the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), 2001

Re: Born on November 17, 1942 in Kompong Chen
1. Charges and arrest:
Cambodian Military Court, Cambodian Police,
1999
2. Charges:
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, 2008
Trial/Verdict:
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, 2010

Re: Born on November 17, 1950, place of birth unknown
1. Arrest warrant/charges:
France, judicial authority or court unknown, 1985
1. Trial/verdict:
Federal Court of Buenos Aires, 1987
(as a result of charge 1)
2. Trial:
Jury Court Paris, 1990 (as a result of charge 1)
2. Arrest warrant/verdict:
International arrest warrant from Italy/
Court of Appeal in Rome, 2001
3. Trial/verdict:
Italy, judicial authority or court unknown, 2007
3. Arrest warrant:
International arrest warrant from Sweden/Judge Djuberg, 2001
4. Arrest warrant/arrest:
Argentina, judicial authority unknown, 2003
5. Arrest warrant/arrest:
Argentina, judicial authority or court unknown, 2003
4. Trial/verdict:
Argentina, judicial authority unknown, 2009

Re: Born in 1955, place of birth unknown
Charges/arrest:
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda;
ICTR, 1995
Trial/verdict:
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda;
ICTR, 1998/2001

Re: Born on October 1, 1955 in Kozarac
Charges/arrest:
International Criminal Court for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), 1994
Trial/verdict:
International Criminal Court for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), 2002

Re: Born on May 8, 1957, place of birth unknown
Charges/arrest:
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
1. Trial:
Supreme Court of Justice Honduras, 1997
2. Charges:
Judiciary Haiti, 1996
2. Trial:
Haitian Court of First Instance, 2000

Re: Born on August 15, 1958 in Gitarama
Charges:
Judiciary Belgium, 1996
Trial:
Jury court in Brussels, 2001

Re: Born in 1968 in Pittsburgh
Charges:
US Military Justice, 2005
Trial:
US Military Court in Fort Hood, 2005

Re: Born on January 4, 1978 in Lorton
Charges:
US Military Justice, 2005
Trial:
US Military Court in Fort Hood, 2005

Re: Born on November 8, in Ashland
Charges:
US Military Justice, 2004
Trial:
US Military Court in Fort Bragg, 2005

Re: Date and place of birth unknown
1. Trial:
Iraqi High Court (Iraqi High Tribunal)/
Dudschail Trial, 2006
2. Trial:
Iraqi High Court (Iraqi High Tribunal)/
Anfal Trial, 2007

Re: Date and place of birth unknown
1. Charges/arrest warrant:
Third Criminal Court of Santiago, 1994
1. Trial:
Third Criminal Court of Santiago, 1998
Other trials:
Chile, judicial authorities and court unknown,
1999 to present (November 2010)

* The above-named years describe the respective year of charges, arrest or verdict announcement

Sentence*

Five death penalties
One verdict could not be executed due to extradition refusal.
A second verdict is still deferred/ at present being served as prison sentence (October 2010).

Five verdicts for lifelong imprisonment
One verdict was not able to be implemented due to extradition refusal.

One verdict for lifelong compulsory labor
The verdict could not be implemented due to extradition refusal.
One verdict for damage compensation of approx. USD 43 million.
The verdict could not be implemented due to extradition refusal.

20 verdicts for fixed-term imprisonment**
Highest penalty in a verdict, 30 years
Highest penalty for a person, 77 years –
seven of these on probation
Lowest penalty, 6 months
One waiver of prison sentence
(Federal Republic of Germany Amnesty Law 1954)

Combined total of prison terms is 182.5 years

* Captivity as prisoner of war not taken into account, multiple sentences counted separately, not together as one verdict
** appeal trial not included, in one case other trials will follow

Offenders areas of responsibility/authority

Decision makers in politics (e.g., Head of Regime, Mayor), administration (e.g. deputy camp supervisor, prison chief), secret service (e.g. Head, Colonel), the military (eg, Frigate Lieutenant, Deputy Head of Operations, military police), the police (e.g. Police Chief of a country), prison (e.g Prison Chief), the church (eg. Abbess) enforcement officers (e.g. concentration camp‚ Aufseher‘)

Education, ideology, religion, nationality, gender and age of the offender

As far as is known, the people portrayed were educated in a wide spectrum of different forms. One person, for example, had an aversion to education (thought to have been born) on May 19, 1928 in the province of Kompong Thom) some belonged to the educational elite (born on November 23, 1897 in Haag; born on July 7, 1930 in Tuzla) and one was described by trial witnesses as being “intellectually backward” (born on November 8, 1982 in Ashland).

Verifiable political and religious beliefs were similarly diverse. Represented are Nazi (born on November 23, 1897 in Haag; born on December 11, 1911 in Engershausen; born on January 10, 1912 in Münzkirchen; born on October 25, 1913 in Bad Godesberg), nationalist (e.g. born on July 7, 1930 in Tuzla; born on October 1, 1955 in Kozarac), Bolshevik (born 1908, place of birth unknown), Maoist (e.g., thought to have been born) on May 19, 1928 in the province of Kompong Thom; born on November 17, 1942 in Kompong Chen) and democratic (e.g. born 1968 in Pittsburgh; born on January 5, 1978 in Lorton; born on November 8, 1982 in Ashland) ideologies.

Religious convictions included Christian (e.g. born on November 17, 1942 in Kompong Chen; born on August 15, 1958 in Gitarama; born 1968 in Pittsburgh) and Buddhist (possibly no longer religious at the time of crime, presumably born on May 19, 1928 in the province of Kompong Thom). The Iraqi man (date and place of birth unknown) is very probably of Islamic belief. It is assumed that others had atheist or other spiritual beliefs.

The selected persons form a worldwide, multiculturally socialized group. They come from the following countries: Argentina (born on November 17, 1950, place of birth unknown), Chile (date and place of birth unknown), Germany (born on November 23, 1897 in Haag; born on December 11, 1911 in Engershausen; born on October 25,1913 in Bad Godesberg), Haiti (Born on May 8, 1957, place of birth unknown), Iraq (date and place of birth unknown), Cambodia presumably born on May 19, 1928 in the province of Kompong Thom; born on November 17, 1942 in Kompong Chen), Austria (born on January 10, 1912 in Münzkirchen), Rwanda (born in 1955, place of birth unknown; born on August 15, 1958 in Gitarama), USSR (Lithuania) (born 1908, place of birth unknown), USA (born 1968 in Pittsburgh; born on January 5, 1978 in Lorton; born on November 8, 1982 in Ashland).

The fact that other nations are not included is due to the budget limitations of this work. Also, it is highly likely that only a fraction of the crimes committed worldwide are similarly documented and open to the public.

At the time they committed the criminal acts, the men and women were aged between 21 and 69.

Economic systems and economic strengths of offenders’ countries

The people portrayed committed their crimes for states with a variety of economic systems. The spectrum included industrial and agrarian states (e.g. born on December 11, 1911 in Engershausen; born in 1955, place of birth unknown), market economy, authoritarian, planned economy or centrally controlled economic systems (e.g. born on November 8, 1982 in Ashland; born on October 25,1913 in Bad Godesberg; born 1908, place of birth unknown) as well as states which offer or accept developmental aid (e.g. born on January 5, 1978 in Lorton; born in 1955, place of birth unknown).

Translated by: Lisa Gardiner, Frankfurt/Main

Speaker: Jeff Burell
Studied at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art, Berlin, at Oberlin College, Ohio, and the High School of Performing Arts, New York. In 1990 he was awarded a Fulbright Acting Scholarship and in 1994 the Ensemblepreis Deutschsprachiger Schauspielschultreffen.
He has worked with film directors Gregor Schnitzler, Anna Justice, Roman Polanski, Ben von Grafenstein, Detsky Graffam, Rosa v. Praunheim, Raymond Ley, Hans Werner and Frank Beyer amongst others. Jeff Burell has acted on the stages of the Carrousel Theater, Berlin, the Neue Theater, Halle, and the Hebbel Theater, Berlin amongst others Jeff Burell resides in Berlin.
Further information: www.burrell-berlin.de

Recorded on May 20, 2011 in Mixwerk Studios, Berlin
© by Bernd Fischer and Jeff Burell.

Bernd Fischer studied visual communication at the Hochschule für Gestaltung, Offenbach, and sculpture at the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste – Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main.
He has received a number of commissions including the design and conception of commemorative plaques for victims of the Nazi regime (City of Frankfurt/Main, Justus Liebig University, Gießen, Brüder Grimm School, Frankfurt/Main, Georg Büchner School, Frankfurt/Main). In 1980 he received the Reinhold Kurth Art Prize from the Stadtsparkasse Frankfurt for an object work. Bernd Fischer lectured for 15 years at the Städelschule/adult education. His works can be found in numerous collections e.g., the Kunstsammlung Chemnitz, the Landesmuseum Darmstadt (permanent loan), the Museum für Aktuelle Kunst – Hurrle Collection, Museum Würth, the Piepenbrock Kulturstiftung, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, The Federal Ministry for Health and Social Security, the Evangelische Akademie, Arnoldshain/ Taunus, and many other companies and private collections. Further information:
www.fischerkuenstler.de
Bernd Fischer has worked as a freelance painter and sculptor in Frankfurt/Main and Offenbach since 1982.