For Germany, the decision to try Demjanjuk was swift: Formal charges relating to his alleged time as a Sobibor guard in 1943 were filed just two months after Demjanjuk landed in the country after a lengthy but fruitless court battle to avoid deportation from the United States.
Filing charges typically take several months in Germany. Yesterday’s move underlined authorities’ determination to move forward with efforts to exact justice for Nazi-era atrocities.
“The effort to bring Demjanjuk to justice sends a very powerful message that the passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the perpetrator,’’ said the top Nazi-hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Efraim Zuroff, who described the charges as “an important step forward.’’
The Munich state court must now decide whether to accept the charges - typically a formality - and set a date for the trial. Court spokeswoman Margarete Noetzel said the trial was unlikely to start before the autumn.
Demjanjuk’s son, John Demjanjuk Jr., described the charges as “a farce’’ and raised anew concerns over whether the 89-year-old’s frail health would allow him a fair trial. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
“As long as my father remains alive, we will defend his innocence, as he has never hurt anyone anywhere,’’ he told the Associated Press in an e-mail. “They have hurried to justify the deportation and the violation of his legal and human rights with sensational charges, but it is all a farce and could never withstand the test of litigation.’’
The younger Demjanjuk said his father has an incurable leukemic bone marrow disease.
However, doctors earlier this month determined that Demjanjuk was fit to stand trial so long as court hearings do not exceed two 90-minute sessions per day. He has been in custody in Munich since his arrival May 12.
