Israel Opposes Sending Judge to Germany to Hear Eichmann Witnesses

The three-justice court sitting in the trial of Adolf Eichmann reserved Judgment today on a proposal from chief defense Counsel Dr.Robert Servatius that an Israeli judge should be sent abroad to hear prospective defense witnesses

who feared to come to Israel to testify because of possible arrest under the Israel law for the punishment of Nazi criminals.

The court announced it would rule tomorrow on the proposal, which Dr.Servatius had offered after Attorney General Gideon Hausner, the chief prosecutor, rejected the defense attorney’s request that immunity be granted to former Nazis so that they could come to Jerusalem to testify without facing possible arrest.

The court’s announcement was made today after Mr.Hausner said that, on behalf-of the Israel Government, he had been authorized to declare that the Government considered present international legal aid arrangements adequate and that it saw no need to ask other Governments to permit Israel judges to take testimony on their territories.

The Attorney General repeated the prosecution’s readiness to accept confirmed sworn statements or investigations before German or other courts based on questions provided by the prosecution or defense or both. He suggested that the court should follow the Nuremberg tribunals precedent of accepting sworn statements, or depositions, with a reservation of the right to review the admissibility of such statements at a later date and to call witnesses personally if their testimony was deemed of extreme importance.

Dr. Servatius entered an objection and proposed that it should be left to the court to decide which witnesses should receive entry visas with guarantees of immunity to testify in the Jerusalem trial.