A German court Thursday rejected a defense motion to drop charges against John Demjanjuk, who is charged with helping murder 27,900 Jews as a World War II guard in a Nazi death camp.
The move Thursday came as Demjanjuk, 90, remained in a Munich hospital after complaining of heart problems. The health complaint forced postponement of the ongoing trial for a third straight day.
Demjanjuk is accused of being an accessory to murder as a guard at the Nazi-run Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland. He denies the charges, saying he was a prisoner at the camp and not a guard.
Demjanjuk lawyer Ulrich Busch had asked the court to end the trial and release his client. He said the evidence presented so far has either not been credible or has failed to prove Demjanjuk was in fact a camp guard.
Demjanjuk, a retired U.S. auto worker, was deported to Germany from the United States last year. He suffers from several medical problems, but has been declared fit by German doctors to stand trial, as long as the court sessions are limited to two 90-minute sessions a day.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
