A curt in Slovakia has reduced a death sentence that was previously handed down to a 98-year-old war criminal to life imprisonment, as legal battles continue.
The suspect, Laszlo Csatary, is accused of ‘unlawful torture of human beings' during World War II, where he allegedly whipped and tortured Jews before sending them to Auschwitz, as chief of an internment camp at Kosice (now part of Slovakia).
He denies all charges against him. Csatary is currently under house arrest in Hungary, after being on the run from authorities for decades.
Speaking on the decision, prosecutor's office spokesman Milan Filicko said,
"Once the decision takes effect, the court will decide whether it will issue an arrest warrant or how it will get him to serve the sentence".
Slovakian Jews have called for Csatary’s extradition to Slovakia, with Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre which tracks down Nazi-era war criminals, earlier stating,
"When you look at a person like this, you shouldn't see an old frail person, but think of a man who at the height of his physical powers devoted all his energy to murdering or persecuting and murdering innocent men, women and children."
