In Germany, an 80-year-old ex-officer of the Stasi, the security service of the communist GDR, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a murder half a century ago.
According to the investigation, then-senior lieutenant Manfred N. shot and killed 38-year-old Pole Czeslaw Kukuchka from an ambush on March 29, 1974. This was the task of the intelligence services of the German Democratic Republic.
The investigation into the case has not progressed for many years. Only in 2016, from the Stasi archives, they received a decisive clue regarding the identity of the shooter, and the court established that the accused was only a perpetrator. He did not comment on the accusations against himself.
The decision was made by the Berlin Regional Court. Pensioner Manfred N. was accused of shooting Kukuchka, who wanted to flee to the West, on the border of East and West Berlin. A 31-year-old Stasi lieutenant shot him in the back when he had already received a stamp in his passport and was leaving the GDR for the Federal Republic of Germany. In recent years, the killer has lived quietly in a private house near Leipzig.
The children and sister of the murdered man were co-plaintiffs along with the German prosecutor’s office. The witnesses were schoolchildren from Hesse who were crossing the border and saw the murder at the same time. The high-profile trial continued from March 14. The pensioner remained silent until the very end.
The prosecutor’s office became interested in him back in the 1990s, but was able to bring charges only for the fourth time, when they received enough evidence.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.