DEMJANJUK

Fit for trial in Germany

07-04-2009 | AP

Panama Star BERLIN. Accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk has been deemed fit enough by medical experts to stand trial for helping to kill 29,000 Jews in World War Two, the state prosecutors office in Munich said Friday.

Demjanjuk, 89, deported to Germany from the United States, has been held in a jail near Munich since May 12. His trial is expected to be Germany's final major Nazi-era war crimes case.

After examining Demjanjuk, medical experts placed only one condition for the trial to proceed--that court appearances be limited to two 90-minute sessions a day.

They said they expect charges to be raised against Demjanjuk in July. Both prosecutors and Demjanjuk's defense attorney, Guenther Maull, said the trial may begin by autumn.

Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk tops the Simon Wiesenthal Center's list of its 10 most-wanted suspected war criminals, but he denies any role in the Holocaust.