Demjanjuk formally charged for WWII killings

MUNICH (AP) — Retired auto worker John Demjanjuk was formally charged Monday with 27,900 counts of acting as an accessory to murder – one for every person who died at the Nazi death camp where he is accused of serving as a guard.

The charges by prosecutors a Munich state court are one of the final steps before an expected autumn trial for the 89-year-old, who has been fighting a variety of Nazi-era charges since 1977.

Demjanjuk and his family have argued that he is in poor health. Photos taken in April showed him wincing in pain as immigration agents removed him from his home in Seven Hills, Ohio, where he had been living since 1993.

German doctors cleared the way for formal charges this month when they declared that Demjanjuk was fit to stand trial so long as court hearings do not exceed two 90-minute sessions per day.

The state court must now decide whether to accept the charges – usually a formality – and set a date for the trial. Court spokeswoman Margarete Noetzel it was unlikely to start until the autumn.

The defendant's son, John Demjanjuk Jr., described the charges as "a farce" in an e-mail to The Associated Press, writing that, "as long as my father remains alive, we will defend his innocence as he has never hurt anyone anywhere." Demjanjuk's lawyer, Guenther Maull, said he had no immediate comment because had not yet seen the charges.