94-year-old former SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp Reinhold Hanning, sits in a courtroom in Detmold, Germany, Friday, May 20, 2016. Prosecutors are seeking a six-year prison sentence for the former Auschwitz death camp guard as an accessory to murder. Prosecutor Andreas Brendel told the Detmold state court in closing arguments Friday that 94-year-old Reinhold Hanning was guilty of being an accessory to murder in at least 100,000 cases, news agency dpa reported. He said: “The defendant played a part in the camp’s purpose of annihilation.” (Bernd Thissen/Pool Photo via AP)
May 20, 2016 - 9:01 AM
BERLIN - Prosecutors are seeking a six-year prison sentence for a former Auschwitz death camp guard being tried in Germany as an accessory to murder.
Prosecutor Andreas Brendel told the Detmould state court in closing arguments Friday that 94-year-old Reinhold Hanning was guilty of being an accessory to murder in at least 100,000 cases, news agency dpa reported. He said: "The defendant played a part in the camp's purpose of annihilation."
The former SS sergeant last month admitted serving as an Auschwitz guard. He said he was ashamed that although he was aware Jews were being gassed and their corpses burned, he did nothing to try to stop it.
Closing arguments from lawyers for survivors who joined the trial as co-plaintiffs are expected to start next week, followed by the defence.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016