CLEVELAND, May 11 (UPI) -- Suspected former death camp guard John Demjanjuk has begun the first leg of his trip to Germany to face his Nazi past, officials said.
Demjanjuk was placed on a medical airplane Monday for his flight to Munich, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer said. The 89-year-old Ukraine native is expected to stand trial on accessory charges in the deaths of 29,000 Jews at a Nazi death camp in 1943.
A U.S. Supreme Court justice last week denied Demjanjuk's attempt to block his deportation. He had claimed that going back to Germany would amount to torture since he suffers from chronic kidney disease and leukemic bone marrow disease.
Demjanjuk attorney Guenther Maull told the newspaper his client should arrive in Munich sometime Tuesday.
Demjanjuk's family, including his children and grandchildren, started arriving at this Seven Hills, Ohio, home about 10 a.m. Monday, with his son, John Jr. arriving later, The Plain Dealer said.
