Former SS medic ‘no longer fit to stand trial’

German authorities are seeking to end the prosecution of a former SS medic who served at the Auschwitz death camp, saying lengthy delays mean that the elderly suspect is now no longer fit for trial.

Hubert Zafke, who is 96, was examined by experts twice in recent months and found unfit, the prosecutors’ office in Schwerin said.

Zafke was charged with 3,681 counts of accessory to murder in 2015 for allegedly helping the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland to function. His lawyer said he did nothing criminal.

In June, three state court judges in the north-eastern city of Neubrandenburg, who repeatedly delayed his trial over questions of his health, were removed after prosecutors and lawyers representing Auschwitz victims and their families complained of bias.