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Family: Demjanjuk Not Faking Health Problems, Pain

POSTED: 6:06 pm EDT April 24, 2009
UPDATED: 6:44 pm EDT April 24, 2009

New video shot by the Department of Justice earlier this month shows accused former Nazi guard John Demjanjuk may not be as ill as his lawyers claim.

In fact, the Department of Justice said it's proof that the 89-year-old should be deported to Germany.

Family Says Demjanjuk In Pain

His family claims that Demjanjuk is too old and too sick to be deported, but the video raises real questions about that claim and Demjanjuk's real condition, reported NewsChannel5 chief investigator Duane Pohlman.

The video has been turned over to the U.S. Court of Appeals and shows Demjanjuk walking to his car after a doctor's appointment on April 6

It shows Demjanjuk as animated and walking on his own, a far cry from the spectacle that played out eight days later, when immigration officials brought Demjanjuk out of his Seven Hills home, moaning in a wheelchair.

Many are now questioning whether this was the real picture of Demjanjuk's condition.

But Ed Nishnic said his former father-in-law was in real pain when immigration agents moved him.

According to the family, Demjanjuk is suffering from renal failure, a pre-cancerous bone marrow condition and spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine that pinches the nerves.

Nishnic said the spinal condition was what caused the obvious pain the day Demjanjuk was moved.

"John Demjanjuk, like any other 89-year-old man, has good days, has bad days. Some days he can walk better. Other days, he can't walk at all," said Nishnic.

Nishnic claims that on the day the Justice Department captured the images, Demjanjuk was on heavy medication.

"Well, he had a good day. He was prepared to go to the doctor with his pain medication," said Nishnic.

The Demjanjuk family said the new video is meaningless because they filed medical papers proving Demjanjuk is too sick to be deported.

The case is now in the hands of the federal appeals court.



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