The president of the World Jewish Congress has welcomed a decision by a judge in Virginia that clears the way for the deportation to Germany of the suspected Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk, where he is to stand trial. Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk has been charged by German prosecutors with 29,000 counts of accessory to murder Jews in the Sobibor Nazi death camp during World War II. “The allegations against Demjanjuk are horrendous, and he must be put on trial with no further delay. We are glad that the judge in Virginia has taken the decision not to let this issue drag on forever, and we would hope that Demjanjuk can be sent to Germany as soon as possible to stand trial in Munich,” Ronald S. Lauder declared.
“Demjanjuk may be old and frail, but so are many Holocaust survivors whose lives were destroyed by the likes of him. They rightly demand justice from those who murdered their loved ones 65 years ago. Countries have a duty to bring mass murderers and their accomplices to justice. There are no excuses for any further delay in this case. No Nazi war criminal still alive should feel safe anywhere in the world,” Lauder said. American courts revoked Demjanjuk’s US citizenship twice because he was found lying about, and concealing, his service in Nazi death camps.
On Monday, a US judge cleared the way for Demjanjuk to be deported to Germany as early as Wednesday, rescinding a stay he had granted days earlier. Judge Wayne Iskra ruled that the 89-year-old had erred in requesting a stay from his court while he argued the case should be reopened and his deportation reconsidered on the grounds that his ill health made sending him to Germany tantamount to torture. Though Iskra had issued a stay last Friday until the issue of reopening the case had been resolved, he indicated on Monday that a higher court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, was the appropriate venue for Demjanjuk's motion. Accordingly, he revoked the stay, effective Wednesday.