Demjanjuk Guilty!

From BBC News:
"John Demjanjuk guilty of Nazi death camp murders"

A German court has found John Demjanjuk guilty of helping to murder more than 28,000 Jews at a Nazi death camp in World War II. He was sentenced to five years in prison, one year less than prosecutors had asked for, but will be released pending a possible appeal. Prosecutors said the Ukraine-born Demjanjuk, 91, was a guard at Sobibor camp in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943. He denied serving as a guard, saying he was a prisoner of war and a victim too. Lawyers for Demjanjuk have said they will appeal against the conviction. "The court is convinced that the defendant... served as a guard at Sobibor from 27 March 1943 to mid-September 1943," presiding Judge Ralph Alt said. "As guard he took part in the murder of at least 28,000 people," he said. An estimated 250,000 people died in the gas chambers at Sobibor. Demjanjuk was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of the 28,060 people who were killed there while he was a guard.

The presiding judge stood up and leaned over him and said: "You have the last word." Demjanjuk simply shook his head no. He was wheeled forward and the judge delivered his guilty verdict to his face. The relatives of the dead were clearly satisfied with the verdict although for some of them it wasn't the main aim. They wanted a court in Germany to hear the details of the machinery of industrial killing and to hear that history related in the city where the Nazi party was founded. Judge Alt said he had ordered Demjanjuk freed during his appeal as he did not pose a flight risk because of his advanced age, poor health and the fact that he was stateless following his expulsion from the US, where after the war he worked in an Ohio car factory and became an American citizen.

Born in Ukraine in 1920, Demjanjuk grew up under Soviet rule. He was a soldier in the Red Army in 1942 when he was captured by the Germans. Prosecutors had argued he was recruited by the Germans to be an SS camp guard and that by working at a death camp he was a participant in the killings. No evidence was produced that he committed a specific crime.It was the first time such a legal argument was made in a German court.

Vera Dejong, relative of Sobibor victim: "He can't look us in the eye"

Central to the prosecution's case was an SS identity card indicating Demjanjuk was posted to Sobibor. The defence cast doubts on the authenticity of the card but court experts said it appeared genuine. Demjanjuk listened to the verdict sitting in a wheelchair without responding, his eyes covered by dark glasses.

^ It is about time this criminal was convicted. The fact that it was done in Germany by a German court gives it even more meaning. I only wish German courts would have done these kinds of trials and given harder sentences. It should not matter if the person is old or sick to stand trial. Think of all the elderly, disabled and very young that were murdered by shootings, starvation and in gas chambers. None of these Nazi criminals cared about the age or health status of any of their victims. The real punishment should be the death penalty, but the EU doesn't allow it and that's just plain sad. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12321549