Polish police have detained a 77-year-old man suspected of leading Jews to gas chambers at a Nazi death camp between 1941 and 1944, the Polish justice ministry said in a statement Friday.
Henryk M. was detained Thursday for his suspected activities as a civilian employee at the Chelmno nad Nerem death camp in central Poland.
Under Polish law a suspect's family name may not be publicly released by the authorities.
Henryk is also suspected of beating prisoners and stealing their personal effects, the Polish news agency PAP reported, citing the statement.
A court in the western city of Poznan is expected later Friday to formally sanction Henryk's arrest in anticipation of charges being filed against him, PAP reported.
Prosecutors have used information from Poland's National Remembrance Institute, an independent public institution charged with investigating crimes committed by the Nazis and Communists, in building their case against Henryk.
If eventually found guilty of abetting the Holocaust, Henryk could be sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail -- WARSAW (AFP)
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