Counsel’s Plea for Belsen Criminals

Manawatu Times, Volume 70, Issue 266, 10 November 1945, Page 9

Counsel’s Plea for Belsen Criminals

GREAT TRIALS AT NUREMBERG APPROACHING. LONDON, Nov. 8. * ‘Nobody who comes before a British court is convictable unless the prosecution proves beyond all doubt that he is guilty undej the law at the time of his commital, ’ ’ said Colonel T. A. Smith, of London, a professor of international law, in speaking for the defence at the Belsen trial at Lunefrurg. “If I can persuade the Court to agree on this fundamental principle, I verily believe the decision will go down in history as one of the judgments which, against all popular clamour, were decided strictly in accordance with law.” Colonel Smith argued that the trial should never have been held, a 3 no war crime had been committed.

Nuremberg is filling with people as the great trial of war leaders approaches, says Reuter’s Nuremberg correspondent. A mass of evidence will come before the Court, but Mr. Scott Fox, of the British Foreign Office, who is a member of the prosecuting team, said: ‘* We are going to try to cut down the amount of evidence. We hope to do a great part of our accusing through German documents, pictures and films. These can be translated for the defence ahead of time and given to the Judges in advance. Thus Courtroom translations will be reduced to the minimum. Wherever we can, we will refrain from oral from human witnesses if we think we have proved the case. With the documents and films prepared hy the Germans themselves, these should be irrefutable before any tribunal.”

Mr. Scott Fox expressed the hope that the defence would respond to the prosecution’s tactics by reducing their witnesses to the minimum. ‘ 4 Of course, it is almost impossible to deny a man on trial for his life the opportunity of calling all the witnesses he needs to put the best possible defence,” he added. The correspondent says that 70,000 photostatic copies of documents will he prepared and 1,000,000 copies of mimeographed evidence will be turned out. The prisoners are now under continual guard night and day. Instead of an inspection every 30 seconds, a soldier stands outside each cell, never taking his eyes off the inmates until relieved by enother guard. The souvenir shop outside the Courthouse is already selling wares faster than they can be produced. Cigarette cases, ashtrays, pencils and other articles bear the inscription “International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg, 1945.” Queues form immediately the word goes round that more stocks are available.