Judge Won’t Delay Nazi Suspect’s Trial
A federal judge has refused to delay a trial for John Demjanjuk, who is fighting government allegations that he covered up a past as a Nazi guard at death and forced labor camps. Demjanjuk’s citizenship revocation trial is to begin as scheduled Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, a clerk for Judge Paul Matia said.
Defense attorney Michael Tigar said he needed more time to look into information suggesting Demjanjuk was a victim of mistaken identity. Demjanjuk, 81, lost his U.S. citizenship in 1981 when a judge in Cleveland ruled that he was “Ivan the Terrible,” the guard who ran the gas chambers at the Treblinka death camp.
In 1999, federal prosecutors filed charges alleging Demjanjuk was a guard at several death or forced labor camps other than Treblinka.
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