Demjanjuk Lawyer Says Real ‘Ivan’ Fled Allies
The defense for John Demjanjuk said Sunday the “real” Nazi death camp guard “Ivan the Terrible” fled the Allied advance near the end of World War II and found cover with Yugoslav Partisans.
Demjanjuk, 72, a retired Cleveland auto worker, was convicted in 1988 of being “Ivan,” a sadistic gas chamber operator at the Treblinka camp where 850,000 Jews perished in 1942-43. He has appealed his conviction and death sentence to Israel’s Supreme Court.
Defense attorney Yoram Sheftel asked the court Sunday to release his client without bail based on the latest testimony. In the past, the court has routinely denied the request.
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