Bogdan Koziy, Costa Rica
Bogdan Koziy, a member of the Ukrainian Security Police during World War II, is accused of Nazi war crimes, including killing 12 people and helping the Gestapo round up Jews for eventual transfer to concentration camps. Targum Shlishi provided essential support and input for the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s efforts in seeking the extradition of Koziy from Costa Rica.

These efforts followed several earlier attempts to bring Koziy to justice. During the past 20 years, Koziy has repeatedly been a focus of attention for the US and USSR governments, and he managed to avoid extradition to the USSR twice. Koziy lived in the US from 1949 until 1984, when he fled to Costa Rica to avoid extradition. In 1986, the USSR requested his extradition from Costa Rica, which was first denied, then approved, and then canceled in 1987. The World Jewish Congress launched a global campaign in 1994 for his extradition, but it was unsuccessful. In 1995, the Simon Wiesenthal Center kicked off a new campaign to convince Costa Rica to expel Koziy.

Targum Shlishi also initiated a letter-writing and e-mail campaign to Costa Rica’s then-president, Jose Maria Figueres. The letter read, in part, “During World War II, Koziy personally participated in the murder of at least 12 Jews…It is a travesty of justice that this murderer is allowed to live in Costa Rica.” Tens of thousands of letters and e-mails were sent.

Targum Shlishi then conceived, developed, and funded an advertising strategy with Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the director of Israel office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, designed to pressure the Costa Rican government to expel Koziy. An advertisement ran in the local San José newspaper Extra, urging this action. Then a second, extremely incendiary ad targeting the travel industry was prepared and sent, ready for print, to the Costa Rican ambassador to the US expressly for the purpose of urging him to action. That ad’s headline was, “Costa Rica: The Land of Tropical Rain Forests. Also, the Land that Gives Safe Haven to a Nazi Murderer.” Soon after that, in early 2001, the supreme court of Costa Rica upheld an expulsion order against Koziy. He is now in hiding. Targum Shlishi did not run the ad; the threat alone spurred Costa Rica to take action against Koziy.

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