French War Crimes Trial Delayed Again

Maurice Papon’s war crimes trial was suspended again Monday - the third time since the proceedings began - because of the 87-year-old defendant’s health problems.

The trial was postponed until at least Wednesday so doctors could treat Papon for severe bronchitis.

Papon, a former Cabinet minister, is the highest-ranking official of the pro-Nazi Vichy regime to stand trial for crimes against humanity. As a police supervisor in the Gironde region during World War II, he is accused of signing the arrest orders that led to the deportations of 1,690 Jews, including 223 children. Most died at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Papon underwent triple bypass heart surgery last year. On the trial’s second day, he was briefly hospitalized after suffering chest pains. The court then freed him from custody, angering many relatives of Holocaust victims.