JURIST - Paper Chase: Accused Nazi goes on trial in Hungary

[JURIST] A Hungarian court on Thursday began the trial of accused Nazi Sandor Kepiro, charged with war crimes committed during the 1942 Novi Sad massacre in Serbia. Kepiro, 97, was named as the world's most wanted Nazi war crimes suspect by the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) [advocacy website], a Jewish human rights organization committed to finding and prosecuting Holocaust war criminals. Kepiro was convicted both in 1944 and 1946 and sentenced to 10 years for involvement in the raids, but he was released and fled to Argentina. He was located and apprehended by the SWC in 2006 and charged [JURIST report] in February. Kepiro has denied all charges.

Kepiro's trial is likely one of the last of an accused Nazi. Earlier this week, the defense began closing arguments in the trial of accused Nazi guard John Demjanjuk [NNDB profile, JURIST news archive]. Demjanjuk's trial, which began in November 2009, has been marked by extensive delay. A verdict is expected this month. In November, Nazi guard Samuel Kunz [Trial Watch profile], 89, passed away [JURIST report] in his home before he could be brought to trial. He was accused of aiding in the killing of hundreds of thousands of Jewish people at the Belzec concentration camp [HRP backgrounder].