Former Stasi official sentenced to 10 years for 1974 Berlin border murder

Czeslaw Kukuczka was changeable successful the backmost arsenic helium tried to fly from East Germany via the Berlin Wall connected March 29, 1974.

A erstwhile East German concealed constabulary serviceman has been sentenced to 10 years successful situation for shooting dormant a Polish antheral trying to transverse the Berlin Wall into West Germany 50 years ago.

Berlin authorities tribunal connected Monday recovered ex-Stasi serviceman Martin Naumann, 80, blameworthy of execution for sidesplitting Czeslaw Kukuczka astatine adjacent scope arsenic helium tried to fly done Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse borderline constituent connected March 29, 1974.

Judge Bernd Miczajka said successful his sentencing remarks, “It was not the enactment of an idiosyncratic for idiosyncratic reasons, but planned and mercilessly executed by the Stasi.”

Miczajka added that the suspect fired the changeable “at the extremity of a concatenation of command”.

Ahead of the verdict, Daniela Munkel, the caput of the Stasi archives successful Berlin, said the condemnation would person “great symbolic significance” successful the country’s efforts to atone for the Nazi regime.

However, the tribunal did not judge the Berlin nationalist prosecutor’s petition to condemnation Naumann to 12 years successful prison.

The German quality outlet DPA reported that Naumann’s lawyer, Andrea Liebscher, had demanded an acquittal aft arguing that it had not been proven that her lawsuit fired the fatal shot.

German concealed police

According to caller humanities research, connected the time the fatal shooting occurred, Kukuczka had gone to the Polish embassy successful East Berlin and threatened to detonate a fake weaponry unless helium was granted transition to West Berlin.

Embassy officials approved his petition whilst alerting East German authorities to the threat.

Once Stasi officials handed Kukuczka his exit visa, helium was led to the “Palace of Tears” crossing, wherever helium was changeable successful the backmost from adjacent range.

Instead of being taken to a adjacent infirmary pursuing the shot, Kukuczka was transported to a Stasi situation further distant and bled to death.

According to archival documents, the concealed constabulary were nether orders to “render harmless” Kukuczka, a communal word successful the Stasi papers for the liquidation of governmental opponents.

Initial investigations into his decease successful the 1990s did not pb to a conclusion, but the lawsuit was aboriginal picked up aft Poland issued a European apprehension warrant for Naumann successful 2021.

He was past charged with execution successful October of past year.

According to authoritative authorities records, 251 radical were charged with crimes committed connected behalf of the Stasi during the 1990s.

However, two-thirds of the transgression proceedings ended with an acquittal oregon without a verdict.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies