German court: Ex-Auschwitz radio operator unfit for trial
BERLIN – A German court says it’s shelving a case against a 92-year-old woman accused of accessory to murder for serving as the Auschwitz commandant’s SS radio operator, saying she’s unfit for trial.
The Kiel state court said in a statement Friday that Helma M., whose last name wasn’t released in line with German privacy laws, was almost fully blind and deaf, and was also weakened by a “severe internal illness” earlier this year.
She’d been charged with 260,000 counts of accessory to murder on allegations her role helped the death camp function.
In another Auschwitz case stalled due to a defendant’s health, a pre-trial hearing is scheduled Monday in Neubrandenburg state court.
Prosecutors argue 95-year-old Hubert Zafke is fit for trial but judges have refused to start the proceedings.
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