JURIST - Paper Chase: Hungary Nazi trial resumed after test of mental capabilities

[JURIST] The trial [JURIST report] of accused Nazi Sandor Kepiro esumed on Thursday after tests proving Kepiro was mentally capable of proceeding. After Kepiro said he could not understand Judge Bela Varga earlier this month, Varga ordered mental and hearing tests for the defendant. Kepiro returned to the court [AFP report] with special headphones to enable his hearing. 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. A verdict is expected on June 3.

Kepiro's trial is likely one of the last of an accused Nazi. Earlier this month, the trial of accused Nazi guard John Demjanjuk [NNDB profile, JURIST news archive] ended when he was convicted [JURIST report] but released because of his advanced age [DW report]. An appeal [JURIST report] is pending. 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].