Nazi guard Demjanjuk in Germany for trial
Published: 12 May, 2009, 13:29
An ambulance car (front) which is probably carrying former Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk (AFP Photo DDP / Joerg Koch Germany out)
(2.3Mb) embed videoIvan Demjanjuk, a suspected Nazi death camp guard, has been extradited from the US to Germany to face trial.
On Tuesday, the 89-year-old arrived in Munich aboard a private jet to face a 21-page arrest warrant issued by a German court.
Demjanjuk is being accused of nearly 30,000 counts of murder while serving as a guard at death camps in Nazi-occupied Poland. He is believed to be the guard known as ‘Ivan the Terrible’, who has so far managed to avoid punishment.
The Ukrainian national and soldier of the Red Army says he was captured by Nazi troops and denies any wrongdoing.
However German investigators have discovered Nazi-time paperwork including and ID with photo, identifying Demjanjuk as a guard at the Sobibor death camp.
His family and lawyers say he cannot stand trial due to his poor health. According to his son John, the man is dying from bone marrow disease – the argument that was keeping him from being deported from the US until this week.
Demjanjuk will be kept in Stadelheim prison or in a hospital depending on his condition.
Ivan Demjanjuk already faced trial in Israel in 1986 and was found guilty and sentenced to death. However, the Israeli Supreme Court reviewed the case and acquitted him due to a lack of evidence.
In 2002 the US revoked Demjanjuk’s citizenship due to his failing to report his service at Sobibor. An immigration judge ruled that he could be deported to Germany, Poland or Ukraine in 2005.
12.05.2009, 13:21
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