ByRobyn Rosen, Robyn Rosen
An actor is threatening to sue the Independent after it used a photograph of him on its front page describing him as a Nazi murderer “wanted for the deaths of 430,000 Jews”, according to a Croatian newspaper.
Tuesday’s Independent splashed with the story of Samuel Kunz, the 89-year-old Nazi who died before he could be brought to trial for the alleged murder of thousands of Jews.
It used a large black-and-white photograph which Croatian newspaper, Vecernji List, claims is actually an image of Ljubomir Jurkovic, a 50-year-old Croatian actor from Karlovac, from the 2007 film The Living and the Dead, about the 1990s Bosnia war.
Mr Jurkovic told the newspaper: “It's awful, it's a big insult to me, my city and for the whole of Croatia.
“I must first consult with a lawyer, but I will certainly ask for an apology and file a lawsuit. Half the money I'll donate to charity.”
Simon Kelner, the editor of the Independent, said: “We are investigating the provenance of the picture, but as yet there is no conclusive proof one way or the other, and our caption acknowledges there is always a measure of uncertainty with pictures of alleged Nazis from that era.”