The trial in Germany of alleged Nazi death camp guard Ivan Demjanjuk will take months longer than had been anticipated, prosecutors have said. The trial in Munich on charges of helping to kill 27,900 Jews while a guard at the Sobibor death camp had been expected to end in May, but with proceedings taking longer than expected, a new timetable from the court foresees scheduled sessions until at least September.
Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk was deported from the United States in May 2009 and has been on trial since November. Although there are no living witnesses able to positively identify Demjanjuk, the prosecution says it has an SS identity card proving he was at a training camp for guards and that he was then transferred to work at Sobibor, in Nazi-occupied Poland.
Demjanjuk, whose family says he is gravely ill and who has appeared in court on a stretcher, denies the charges but has so far declined to address the court. Proceedings are restricted to two 90-minute sessions per day. Several sessions have been curtailed or postponed due to Demjanjuk's health complaints.