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Author Elie Weisel Testifies at the Trial of His Attacker
9-Jul-2008
Written by: Justin Zaremba
Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel recounted his encounter with Eric Hunt, the man who assaulted him in a hotel elevator in February, to the San Francisco Superior Court.
The Associated Press reports that Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel testified on Monday at the trial of Eric Hunt, the man accused of assaulting Wiesel on an elevator at San Francisco’s Argent Hotel in February.
At the San Francisco Superior Court, Wiesel informed the jury that he was shocked to learn that Hunt, of Vernon, N.J., was linked to a movement of Holocaust deniers. Wiesel said he did not understand the reason for the attack until a colleague showed Wiesel an online document allegedly written by Hunt.
In February, Wiesel encountered Hunt in an elevator at the hotel where he was attending a peace conference. Hunt demanded that Wiesel come to his hotel room for an interview. Hunt’s intent was to force Wiesel to admit that his memoir, Night, was “entirely fictitious.”
Wiesel stated that when he refused to go to Hunt’s room, Hunt grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the elevator onto the sixth floor. Wiesel told the court that during that time he feared he was going to be kidnapped and screamed for help for about three minutes while Hunt stood “expressionless.” Wiesel said that after some time, Hunt said, “You are afraid of the truth,” and walked away.
At the prosecutor’s request, Wiesel read from Hunt’s document, in which Wiesel was referred to as the “pope of the Holocaust religion.”
Wiesel said, “I confess that reading this document shook me up much more than the action itself. All of a sudden I understood the incident. I understood . . . Mr. Hunt’s motivation. Until then I was in the dark. I couldn’t understand what he wanted.”
Hunt has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of attempted kidnapping, elder abuse, false imprisonment, battery, stalking, and hate crimes. Hunt’s attorney has stated that Hunt is not Anti-Semitic but is in fact mentally ill.
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