Convicted Auschwitz guard bids for clemency to avoid prison

15 January 2018, 5:28 pm

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BERLIN — A former Auschwitz death camp guard has launched a bid for clemency in a final effort to avoid serving his sentence as an accessory to murder.

The dpa news agency reported Monday that attorneys for Oskar Groening have filed the appeal with authorities in Lueneburg, where he was convicted in 2015 as an accessory to the murder of 300,000 Jews. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

In this photo from July 15, 2015, former SS sergeant Oskar Groening listens to the verdict of his trial in Lueneburg, Germany. (Tobias Schwarz/Pool Photo via AP, file)

It wasn’t immediately clear what argument the 96-year-old made for clemency, but a doctor has determined Groening is fit to go to prison if there’s appropriate medical care.

Hannover prosecutors, who have been handling Groening’s case, told The Associated Press that Groening hasn’t yet been summoned to report to prison, but that hearing of the clemency appeal shouldn’t delay that process.

— AP