Barbie Trial -- Day 17 -- Discussion of the chain of command in the Lyon Gestapo; a witness testifies

13:36 President Cerdini calls the session to order; asks that the accused present himself; Barbie refuses to appear; Cerdini calls on the bailiff to compel the accused to appear 13:37 The bailiff reads the names of the witnesses scheduled to give testimony in the session 13:39 Cerdini suspends the session while the bailiff goes to Barbie to compel him to appear 14:02 Cerdini calls the session to order; the bailiff reads Barbie's statement that he refuses to appear 14:05 Prosecutor Klarsfeld asks that the Floreck Report be read into the court proceedings: Vergès had referenced the report in response to the testimony of Alex and Ita Halaunbrenner, using the report as proof that Barbie was not in Lyon on the day they said he arrived in their home; President Cerdini grants permission and Klarsfeld reads the report 14:14 Vergès explains that Floreck's signature on the deportation order proves that Barbie was not in Lyon, because Floreck was a deputy of Barbie; Vergès, Prosecutor Klarsfeld, President Cerdini, and the Attorney General discuss particularities of the Gestapo signatures on several documents, and debate the respective roles within the Gestapo of Barbie, Floreck, Hollbert, and Knab 14:24 President Cerdini, Vergès, and the Attorney General discuss whether the document should be allowed into evidence 14:25 President Cerdini calls the first witness, Mr. Benjamin Kaminski, to the stand; the witness presents himself to the court and is sworn in 14:30 The witness testifies, describing his arrest on August 1, 1944 in his tailoring shop; the witnessed recounts being interrogated and tortured at the Gestapo headquarters at Place Bellecourt by Barbie and his deputies; his imprisonment at Montluc and departure on the transport of August 11, 1944; his arrival at Auschwitz; his forced evacuation to the Flossenburg camp and liberation by the American army 14:41 President Cerdini asks the witness to share the fate of other members of his family; his father died in the Gross-Rosen camp and his brother at Flossenburg; of the seven members of his family deported, he was the only one to return; Cerdini asks the witness to explain how he identified Barbie at the Lyon Gestapo headquarters; whether a member of the SS at Gestapo headquarters alluded to the possibility of his deportation 14:45 Prosecutor Zelmati asks the witness to detail his torture at the hands of Barbie 14:48 Defense attorney Vergès asks the witness for clarification regarding the nationality of the officers who arrested him; discussion regarding one of the arresting officers, Mr. Chenevier; Vergès asks the witness whether he saw Barbie at the departure of the August 11 transport 14:51 Prosecutor Zelmati asks President Cerdini to include Mr. Kaminski as a civil party in the case, and President Cerdini allows it 14:52 Cerdini calls the next witness, Mr. Fernand Hahn, to the stand; Mr. Hahn presents himself to the court and is sworn in 14:55 The witness recounts his transfer from the St. Paul prison to the Perrache train station in Lyon; he describes an address Barbie gave there prior to the transport's departure, in which he assured them that no one would return alive 14:57 End of tape