A London newspaper report that Adolf Eichmann had attempted suicide by bashing his head against the wall of his cell was flatly denied here today by Commander Abraham Selinger, head of the Sixth Bureau which is conducting the investigation of the Eichmann case.
Selinger insisted that there had not been any attempt by Eichmann to take his life. According to reports here, Eichmann’s cell is padded to prevent the prisoner from harming himself.
Indications that Eichmann will be formally charged with crimes against the Jewish people–a capital offense under Israel law–were given-last night with the disclosure of details about the secret arraignment of Eichmann before a magistrate earlier in the day. The Nazi was brought before Magistrate Alfred Back of Haifa in a specially prepared chamber at the prison where the Nazi official is being held. He was ordered remanded for another period of 15 days.
Assistant Commander Ephraim Hofstater, deputy head of the Sixth Bureau, appeared before the magistrate to ask for the remand. He also asked for a court order under the terms of the laws against crimes against humanity and against the Jewish people prohibiting publication of information en Eichmann’s place of detention or security arraignments. The magistrate granted the remand requested by Hofstater and the security order.
EICHMANN HEARS CHARGES AGAINST HIM; HAS NOTHING TO SAY
Commander Hofstater told the magistrate that Eichmann was charged with crimes against the Jewish people under the Nazis and Collaborators (Punishment) Law and crimes against humanity under another provision of the same law. In his affidavit to the court, made public later, Hofstater said: “I have reasonable ground for charging the accused with the above offenses and hereby request the extension of his detention for a period of 15 days.”
This was the second detention order made against Eichmann, the first having been issued by Magistrate Yedid Halevi in Tel Aviv on May 23, Eichmann, it was reported later, listened attentively to the charges which Hofstater translated into German. When asked by the magistrate whether he had anything to say. he replied he had nothing to say.
Magistrate Back, a native of Silesia, received his degree in law in Germany but was barred from practice by the Nazi regime after 1933, His parents and many members of his family perished at the hands of the Nazis.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
