Demjanjuk v. Petrovsky

John Demjanjuk (defendant), a native of Ukraine, was a United States citizen since 1958, after his admission to the United States under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. In 1981, Demjanjuk’s admission was revoked after the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio found that Demjanjuk falsified and misrepresented material facts in his certificate of naturalization. It was discovered that Demjanjuk served in the Soviet Army in 1940, became a guard at the Treblinka concentration camp in Poland in 1942 after capture by Germans, served in POW camps, and completed a tour at the Polish Trawniki SS training camp. During naturalization proceedings, Demjanjuk admitted that his United States immigration application misrepresented his residence in 1938–1948 and intentionally omitted his service in the German military. However, Demjanjuk denied any affiliation with Treblinka or Trawniki, even though six witnesses identified him as a Ukrainian guard at the locations and as having brutally beaten and killed prisoners. Demjanjuk was charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes pursuant to Israeli statutes. Deportation proceedings were initiated against Demjanjuk. The State of Israel’s request for extradition of Demjanjuk was granted by the district court, placing Demjanjuk in the attorney general’s custody. Demjanjuk filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the district court lacked jurisdiction to grant extradition for the war crimes for which he was charged as extraditable offenses. Demjanjuk claimed that because he was not an Israeli citizen or resident and the crimes were committed in Poland before Israel was recognized as a nation, he could not be prosecuted. The district court denied the habeas petition. Demjanjuk appealed.