Monday, December 9, 2013

Germany:Nazi Guard at Auschwitz Unfit for Trial; Hans Lipschis Released Due to Having Dementia

Accused Nazi war criminal Hans Lipschis, 94, was released from custody in Germany after being diagnosed with dementia, the Jewish Press website reports today (December 9, 2013).

The arrest warrant against Lipschis was canceled on December 6 due to a psychiatrist's determination that the alleged former SS guard at Auschwitz was suffering from the early stages of the illness and therefore might not sufficiently understand and respond to the charges against him.

Lipschis -- a native of Lithuania -- has been held in the Hohenasperg prison hospital near Stuttgart since May on charges of complicity in hundreds of murders at the Nazi death camp. A court in Germany must decide if a trial should take place, reportedly depending on Lipschis' state of health.

At the time of his arrest, Lipschis was called one of the 10 most wanted Nazis in a report by Zeit Online newspaper. Last April, he told a German newspaper that he was in Auschwitz "as a cook the whole time."

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