Australia’s first war-crimes trial has encountered further delays over the poor health of the 74-year-old defendant, Ivan Polyukhovich, and because of possible health hazards to defense and prosecution lawyers who will be gathering evidence near Chernobyl in the Soviet Union.
The trial, to be held in Adelaide, South Australia, cannot begin before September, when the High Court is expected to issue its ruling on a defense appeal challenging the procedure.
The health angle was raised by Polyukhovich’s lawyers, who said his condition made it difficult for them to take instructions.
It also means the alleged mass killer will not be able to travel with them to the Ukraine, Israel and the United States to hear testimony from more than 50 witnesses.
Supporters of Polyukhovich insist on protection for the government and defense investigators, whom they say will be exposed to radiation or contamination when they question witnesses in the Ukrainian town of Rovno, about 173 miles from Chernobyl, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster.
The defense has also asked that when the court sits in Israel, the evidence be taken in Tel Aviv because “Jerusalem is more unstable than Tel Aviv.”
They cited the acid attack by a Holocaust survivor on one of the defense lawyers for John Demjanjuk, another alleged war criminal of Ukrainian origin who was tried in Jerusalem.
Polyukhovich is alleged to have murdered 24 people and to have been knowingly involved in the murders of about 850 people in the Nazi-occupied Ukraine during World War II.
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