Demjanjuk Asks Supremes to Block Deportation

Accused death camp guard argues he is too frail to be sent overseas

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted May 7, 2009 5:19 AM CDT

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Demjanjuk Asks Supremes to Block Deportation — John Demjanjuk gets into a car outside a medical building in Parma, Ohio, last month. (AP Photo/U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement via The Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk, 89, has appealed to the Supreme Court to prevent his deportation to Germany, Reuters reports. A federal appeals court ruled last week that the retired autoworker, accused of assisting in the deaths of 29,000 Jews, could be deported to stand trial. His lawyers argue that he is too old and frail to be sent overseas.

The Justice Department—which has shown video of Demjanjuk walking unassisted from a building to a car to counter his claims of frailty—is expected to oppose the appeal. A German court yesterday rejected an effort by Demjanjuk's lawyers to block his deportation from the US, who argued that the matter should be for American authorities to decide.
(More concentration camp stories.)

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