Evening star., 1961-12-11
EICHMANN
EISIINLHININ -. I" = ET9*ySEE'.S =
3OO-Poge Judgment Calls
Nozi Key Man in Genocide
Continued From Page Al

clCIlIIidIlu Ildu argued CnaC
he was only an underling who
carried out orders. But the
court said:
"The laws of humanity are
binding on individuals. The
guilt of Germany as a State
does not detract one iota from
the personal responsibility of
the accused"
Packed Courtroom Silent
The packed courtroom was
deathly silent as the verdict
of guilty was pronounced.
Many of the 600 spectators
had relatives who were VIC
tins of the Nazi pogrom or were
themselves survivors Of the
death camps.
There was not a sigh or a
ripple at the abrupt one
sentence verdict which Judge
Landau spoke rapidly before
beginning to outline the courts
detailed reasoning.
The reading of the judg-
ment will continue through
today and tomorrow. Attor-
ney General Gideon Hausner
who prosecuted the case,
presented tons of captured doc
uments and 112 witnesseS-will
then advise" the court on the
penalty.
Defense Counsel Robert Ser
vatius of West Germany, will
make his final plea and Eich-
mann himself is to be allowed
to speak in his own behalf.
Defense Plea Rejected
The court rejected Eich-
mann's defense plea that Israel
had no right to try him for
crimes committed elsewhere
and under a law passed years
after the crimes.
"The court finds the law
in the best tradition of inter-
national law, the Judgment
found. The court said inter-
national crimes were tried as
far back as the Middle Ages in
areas where the guilty were
caught Piracy cases were so
conducted on the theory that
"all mankind must declare war
against" such violations. The
Israeli judges said this rea-
soning applies to Eichmann as
we'll.
"A person guilty of piracy
has placed himself beyond the
protection of any state the
court said. o
Eichmann, as chief of the
Gestapo's bureau for Jewish
affairs. was no better than a
pirate. the tribunal concluded.
1t was Eichmanns job to
round up the Jews, arrange
transportation to the death
camps and see that the human
cargo was delivered. Out of
that master Nazi plan to wipe
out the Jewish race, six million
died. more than half of all of
Europe's Jewish population.
Can Ask Clemency
II Eichmann is sentenced to
death, his counsel can appeal
to the state supreme court! If
the high court rejects the ap-
peal, Eichmann can ask Glenn
ency from President 1zhak
Ben-Zvi.
After the reading Of the
guilty verdict, Eichmann was
permitted to sit as the court
read out the legal reasoning
behind its judgment. The three
judges alternated in the read
ing.
The conviction of Eichmann
for crimes against the Jewish
people, crimes against human
ity, war crimes and membership
in a hostile organization en-
braced the entire IS count in
dictment under which he was
tried.
Under Israeli Interpretation,
the Nazi Party which Eichmann
Joined early in the Hitler era
constitutes a hostile organi-
cation"
Judge Landau expressed the
courts appreciation to Ser
vatius and said "his arguments
for the defense as a whole were
good and serious"
Eichmann was ruled to have
been a kingpin in what the
Hitler regime labeled "the final
solution of the Jewish problem. -
U. N. Support Claimed
The tribunal asserted its legal
reasoning was backed up by the
United Nations itself when it
took the stand that genocide-
the eradication of any race-is
a crime against all interna- :
tional law and thinking. Thus
the court reasoned, Eichmann
engaged in genocide.
THE abhorrent crimes with
which the accused was charged
afflicts the conscience of all
nations" Judge 1zhak Raveh
read from the judgment.
The court also reasoned that
a criminal such as Eichmann is
"justiciable by any state any
where" The court. thereby re-
jected the defense contention
that Eichmann, because he was
kidnapped from Argentina wHs
illegally brought to Israel tc
stand trial.
The judgement cited lega
decisions from a dozen coun-
tries in support of its right tC
try Eichmann for crimes against
the Jews. International con.
ventions providing for the pun
ishment of those responsible fol
genocide also were cited.
Universal Jurisdiction
1.-THE principle of universalit!
of Jurisdiction in war crimes
has been we'll established b!