Former Nazi cleared to stand trial

ROME - A military judge yesterday ordered former Nazi SS Capt. Erich Priebke to stand trial for helping massacre 335 civilians outside Rome in 1944.

Relatives of the victims attending the closed hearing burst into applause at the decision by Judge Giuseppe Mazzi. Priebke ''didn't blink an eye,'' said one of their lawyers, Pietro Nicotera.

The indictment of Priebke, 82, ends two years of uncertainty over his fate. Arrested in Argentina, he fought extradition for over a year before being sent to Italy last fall.

But in the end the judge ignored Priebke's arguments - advanced age, a blameless life in Argentina where he had lived for decades, the threat of death if he disobeyed orders and the belief he was carrying out a legitimate wartime reprisal for the killing of German soldiers.

The indictment charges Priebke with ''taking part in violence with continuous homicide,'' a military code charge that brings life in prison. Trial was set for May 8.