The Wall Street Journal
MAY 6, 2009, 12:47 P.M. ET
Berlin Court Rejects Demjanjuk Appeal
Associated Press
BERLIN -- A Berlin court on Wednesday rejected suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk's attempt to block his deportation to Germany, saying his case must be argued in the U.S.
It ruled on an emergency suit filed last week against the German Justice Ministry for its role in the upcoming deportation of the 89-year-old Ohio resident, accused of being an accessory to 29,000 murders at the Sobibor camp.
The judges rejected the argument that Germany could block the deportation, saying the decision lies with American authorities, court spokesman Stephan Groscurth said.
He added that judges found the 89-year-old has "been sufficiently able to have [his case] reviewed in the USA."
Mr. Demjanjuk's attorney in Germany, Ulrich Busch, couldn't immediately be reached for comment but his son, John Demjanjuk Jr., said in a statement emailed to the Associated Press that the decision would be appealed.
"We understand there is tremendous political pressure being put on Germany by the U.S. Justice Department's OSI (Office of Special Investigations) and Jewish groups," he wrote. "However, the decision of the German government to accept a deportation remains solely the decision of the Germans."
Prosecutors in Munich allege he was a guard at the camp in 1943. Mr. Demjanjuk maintains he was a prisoner of war, not a camp guard.
Mr. Demjanjuk had been tried in Israel after accusations surfaced that he was the notorious Nazi guard "Ivan the Terrible" in Poland at the Treblinka death camp. He was found guilty in 1988 of war crimes and crimes against humanity, a conviction later overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court.
A U.S. judge revoked his citizenship in 2002 based on U.S. Justice Department evidence showing he concealed his service at Sobibor and other Nazi-run death and forced-labor camps.
An immigration judge ruled in 2005 he could be deported to Germany, Poland or Ukraine. Munich prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for him in March.
In the U.S., Mr. Demjanjuk's lawyer said Tuesday he is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the deportation.
Attorney John Broadley said he will ask for a reprieve of at least 90 days so he can argue that a federal appeals court in Ohio erred last week when it denied the Ukrainian-born Mr. Demjanjuk a stay of deportation.
The U.S. Justice Department says Mr. Demjanjuk and his lawyers have used court filings as a delay tactic. The department provided the appeals court with surveillance video that government attorneys contend shows Mr. Demjanjuk is fit enough to travel.
But the filing by Mr. Demjanjuk's lawyer says that even a medically equipped airplane couldn't eliminate the risk of great pain. Such a risk provides grounds for halting the deportation and "failure to find irreparable injury is incomprehensible," it said.
Mr. Demjanjuk has said he suffers severe spinal, hip and leg pain and has a bone marrow disorder, kidney disease, anemia, kidney stones, arthritis, gout and spinal deterioration.
Mr. Groscurth said the Berlin court also rejected the argument that, if Mr. Demjanjuk is deported by the U.S., he should be returned immediately.
Judges ruled that "the Federal Republic of Germany has the obligation, because of the warrant for his arrest, to take the accused into custody," Mr. Groscurth said.
Copyright © 2009 Associated Press
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