The prosecution in the trial of suspected Nazi war criminal Sándor Képíró, 97, has called for the defendant to serve time in prison despite his age, state news agency MTI reported on Wednesday.
Képíró, a one-time gendarmerie officer, is on trial for his alleged participation in a raid by Hungarian forces on the Serbian town of Novi Sad on 21-23 January 1942, in which more than 1,200 Jews and Serbs were murdered. The accused, one of the last suspected Nazi war criminals to face trial, allegedly ordered the rounding up and execution of 36 Jews and Serbs as head of one of the patrols involved in the raid.
According to the prosecution, on 20 January 1942 Colonel József Grassy, changing the protocol of the raid, ordered the shooting of Jews and Serbs whose documents were not in order or who could not speak fluent Hungarian. Képíró allegedly relayed the order to his subordinates who carried it out, killing 36 people.
A verdict dating to 1944 condemned Képíró but was annulled under the German-backed fascist regime that came to power in that year. Képíró was sentenced again in 1946 but by that time he had fled the country. The defence argues that according to Hungarian law nobody can be convicted of a crime twice, therefore the previous verdicts are invalid in the current trial, a claim the prosecution disputes on the grounds that the acquittal was based on political considerations, not evidence. The evidence, such as the testimony of János Nagy, who served under Képíró, had proved Képíró’s guilt and should be allowed to be submitted as evidence, the prosecution says.
Képíró has denied any involvement in the killings. The defence on Thursday called for the trial to be annulled or Képíró acquitted.

budapesttimes.hu