Nazi officer accused of Genoa massacre dies aged 97

HAMBURG - Friedrich Engel, a former Nazi SS officer known as the "Butcher of Genoa", has died aged 97.

His wife has confirmed that he died 10 days ago, and he was buried in Hamburg last week, the city's prosecutor's office said.

Engel was convicted in the city of 59 counts of murder in 2002. He received a 6-year suspended sentence.

The court ruled he had ordered the execution of Italian naval commandos on May 19, 1944. Engel, the head of the SS security service in the city, insisted he merely "observed" the executions, and did not supervise them.

In 2004, the federal appeals court quashed the conviction. The court maintained he was legally responsible for the massacre, but questioned whether there was enough evidence to convict him. He was told he would not face a retrial because of his age.

In 1999, an Italian military court convicted Engel in absentia and sentenced him to life for crimes connected to 246 deaths.

- INDEPENDENT