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Papon freed during war-crimes trial
Proceeding adjourned until Monday
October 10, 1997
Web posted at: 10:49 a.m. EDT (1449 GMT)BORDEAUX, France (CNN) -- A French court on Friday ordered accused Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, who was a Vichy police official during World War II, released from prison while he stands trial on crimes against humanity.
Under French law, Papon will remain free even if convicted, until all appeals have been heard, a process expected to take years.
Papon, 87, is accused of complicity in Nazi crimes against humanity for allegedly signing arrest orders that led to the deportation of 1,690 Jews, 223 of them children, between 1942 and 1944. Nearly all were gassed at the concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland.
The court noted Papon's ailing health in its ruling, and said there was no reason to believe he would flee the country or pressure witnesses during the trial.
"Nothing leads us to think that the suspect will flee," presiding Judge Jean-Louis Castagnede said.
Police escort Papon to a hospital, where he spent the night -- Correspondent Jim Bittermann reports from Bordeaux. 
281K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Papon's attorneys had asked that their client remain free during the trial, citing his poor health.
The order, which came on the third day of the historic war crimes trial, was met with a moment of shocked silence in the courtroom.
The judge also lifted judiciary surveillance of Papon, who had been forced to hand in his passport and report his movements. The judge adjourned the trial until Monday at the request of civil parties.
'This is monstrous'
Prosecutors and civil parties had vigorously fought for Papon to be hospitalized under guard throughout the trial. French law requires people facing serious charges to be imprisoned for the duration of their court proceedings.
Civil lawyer Arno Klarsfeld, the son of Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld and who represents the families of 81 children allegedly arrested under Papon's orders in August 1942, was infuriated.
"You have made the decision. You have to take responsibility for it," he told the judge. He then picked up his briefcase and stormed out of court.
"I'm completely devastated. What horror. This is monstrous," said Therese Stopnicki, 65, whose two sisters died at Auschwitz after being deported, allegedly on Papon's orders.
"The judges show no respect for our loved ones who have gone up in smoke," Stopnicki told The Associated Press.
Papon hospitalized overnight
Papon, whose post-war career culminated with a post as budget minister from 1978-81, complained of chest pains after Thursday's hearings. He was hospitalized overnight, but attended Friday's hearing. He underwent triple bypass surgery last year.
Papon arrived in an ambulance at the Palace of Justice after walking out of Haut-Leveque Hospital outside Bordeaux, surrounded by bodyguards and national guardsmen. Hospital officials said doctors examined Papon and determined he could return to the courtroom.
In a hospital statement, officials said Papon was transferred from his cell to the hospital late Thursday night at the request of an emergency doctor posted at the Gradignan prison.
A prosecutor, quoted by France Info radio, said Papon had been hospitalized as a preventive measure. Hospital and judicial officials said earlier that Papon had suffered a heart attack.
Under the pro-Nazi Vichy regime, about 76,000 people -- including 12,000 children -- were deported from France to Nazi death camps in Poland and Germany. Only about 2,500 of the people survived.
Papon is the highest-ranking Vichy official to stand trial for the persecution and deportation of Jews. He has said he did not have direct authority over French police and that he was simply obeying orders as a police supervisor.
Vichy, the seat of government in France after the Germans defeated the French army in 1940, enacted strict anti-Jewish laws. Among other things, the French measures banned Jews from owning property and prohibited them from working in professions such as law, medicine, teaching and civil service.
Related story:
- Trial to revisit French role in Holocaust - October 7, 1997
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