BERLIN (Reuters) – A 96-year-old German woman fled ahead of the opening on Thursday of her trial on charges of aiding and abetting mass murder in a Nazi concentration camp during World War Two, a court spokesperson said.
Irmgard Furchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 and 1945.
“The accused is on the run,” said court spokesperson Frederike Milhoffer. “She left her home early in the morning in a taxi in the direction of a metro station.”
The spokesperson said an arrest warrant had been issued.
Her current whereabouts are unknown. Charges cannot be read unless Furchner, who faces trial in an adolescent court because of her young age at the time of the alleged crimes, is present in court in person.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Alison Williams, William Maclean)
