Reinhold Hanning
Reinhold HanningReuters

Following the sentencing of 94-year-old Reinhold Hanning to 5 years in prison for his part in the murder of 170,000 Jews in the Holocaust, his lawyers have announced that they will appeal the sentence. The prosecution, representing Holocaust victims, will also appeal the leniency of the sentence.

Hanning was convicted 10 days ago by a court in Detmold, Germany, for aiding the murder of 170,000 inmates at Aushwitz-Birkenau.

The judges in the case found that Hanning worked as a guard in the German extermination camp on Polish soil in the years 1941-1944, while being involved in the deaths of 170,000 camp prisoners, most of them Jews.

Despite his advanced age, the judges decided to send him to prison for 5 years for his crimes. His lawyers are looking to have the sentence reduced or revoked, presumably on account of his age and fragile health.

A spokesman for the Detmold court announced that an appeal has also been filed from the other side, by lawyers representing Holocaust victims murdered during the time Hanning worked at the camp. These representatives are demanding that Hanning be given a much more severe sentence, without regard to his age. 

Hanning himself will remain free and will not start serving his prison time until the appeals are adjudicated.