Asner, 92, is suspected of involvement in war crimes committed against civilians in 1941 and 1942. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre brought charges against him in mid-2004 based on research of the suffering of the Jews in the Pozega area in 1941 and 1942 by Alen Budaj, an amateur historian from Pozega.
The County Court in Pozega has recently ordered an investigation into the case and has heard several witnesses.
Speaking at a press conference with Budaj at his side, Zuroff confirmed that the purpose of his visit was the investigation of Asner. He criticised the Croatian justice system for being too slow.
We are particularly concerned that a year has passed and an indictment has not been issued nor has a request for extradition been filed. In the meantime, Asner can be sitting in Klagenfurt, Austria, and laughing at the Croatian judiciary, Zuroff said.
Zuroff said that his visit was a sort of warning to the public at large, and that it was necessary to make a greater effort in prosecuting Nazi war criminals from the Second World War.
I think the facts speak for themselves. Results are the ultimate test. No government has ever admitted working badly. I would be pleased if next year I could give a very good mark to Croatia and if Asner was charged, Zuroff said, citing the example of Hungary which had managed to solve a similar case in three months.
Zuroff expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the Jewish cemetery in Pozega. He supported the plan to renovate the cemetery and install memorial plaques at three sites where synagogues used to stand. The town's last synagogue was razed to the ground in the wake of the Second World War.
During his visit to Pozega, Zuroff met Mayor Zdravko Ronko and County Court President Branimir Miljevic, who informed him of the investigation process.
Last week, during the first visit of a Croatian head of government to Israel, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader told The Jerusalem Post that Croatian authorities would arrest Asner as soon as they found out his whereabouts.
"Our position is very firm. The judiciary is working on the case, but Asner's whereabouts are not known. We must find out where he is," Sanader said in an interview with the Israeli daily.