Current:Home > ScamsFormer agent of East Germany’s Stasi agency is charged over the 1974 border killing of a Polish man-LoTradeCoin
Former agent of East Germany’s Stasi agency is charged over the 1974 border killing of a Polish man
View Date:2024-12-23 23:55:11
BERLIN (AP) — A former member of communist East Germany’s secret police has been charged with murder over the killing of a Polish national at a border crossing in divided Berlin in 1974, prosecutors said Thursday.
The indictment against the 79-year-old man, whose name wasn’t released, was filed at the state court in the German capital.
It relates to an incident on March 29, 1974, in which a 38-year-old Polish man took a fake bomb to the Polish Embassy to try to force an unhindered exit to West Berlin, prosecutors said in a statement.
East Germany’s secret police, the Stasi, allegedly decided to feign authorizing the man’s exit. Its employees provided him with exit documents and accompanied him to a border crossing at the Friedrichstrasse railway station in East Berlin, prosecutors said.
They said that the suspect, age 31 at the time, was tasked with rendering the Polish man “harmless.” After the Pole had passed the final checkpoint, the suspect allegedly shot him in the back from a hiding place.
East Germany built the Berlin Wall in 1961, preventing most of its citizens from traveling to the West. Many tried to escape by tunneling under it, swimming past it, climbing or flying over it. At least 140 people died in the attempt.
The heavily fortified border was opened on Nov. 9, 1989, a key moment in the collapse of communism in Europe. Germany was reunited less than a year later.
veryGood! (79694)
Related
- See Chris Evans' Wife Alba Baptista Show Her Sweet Support at Red One Premiere
- 'Wonka' returns with more music, less menace
- Australia cricketer Khawaja wears a black armband after a ban on his ‘all lives are equal’ shoes
- A FedEx Christmas shipping deadline is today. Here are some other key dates to keep in mind.
- US Open finalist Taylor Fritz talks League of Legends, why he hated tennis and how he copied Sampras
- Promising new gene therapies for sickle cell are out of reach in countries where they’re needed most
- The Shohei Ohani effect: Jersey sales, ticket prices soar after signing coveted free agent
- 'The Crown' ends as pensive meditation on the most private public family on Earth
- Brush fire erupts in Brooklyn's iconic Prospect Park amid prolonged drought
- Hunter Biden defies a GOP congressional subpoena. ‘He just got into more trouble,’ Rep. Comer says
Ranking
- Eva Longoria Shares She and Her Family Have Moved Out of the United States
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast pays homage to Andre Braugher
- Michigan state trooper wounded, suspect killed in shootout at hotel
- Anxiety and resignation in Argentina after Milei’s economic shock measures
- Volkswagen, Mazda, Honda, BMW, Porsche among 304k vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- US judge to weigh cattle industry request to halt Colorado wolf reintroduction
- A judge may rule on Wyoming’s abortion laws, including the first explicit US ban on abortion pills
- Are Costco, Kroger, Publix, Aldi open on Christmas 2023? See grocery store holiday status
Recommendation
-
Tesla issues 6th Cybertruck recall this year, with over 2,400 vehicles affected
-
With inflation down, people are talking rate cuts. The European Central Bank may say not so fast
-
Dwayne Johnson to star in Mark Kerr biopic from 'Uncut Gems' director Benny Safdie
-
Why Emma Watson Is Glad She Stepped Away From Acting
-
Mike Tyson concedes the role of villain to young foe in 58-year-old’s fight with Jake Paul
-
US Marine killed, 14 injured at Camp Pendleton after amphibious vehicle rolls over
-
The Shohei Ohani effect: Jersey sales, ticket prices soar after signing coveted free agent
-
Zelenskyy makes first visit to US military headquarters in Germany, voices optimism about US aid