Trial and Imprisonment
| Egon Krenz | |
|---|---|
| Conviction(s) | Manslaughter |
| Penalty | 6.5 years imprisonment |
| Conviction status | Served prison sentence 13 January 2000 – 18 December 2003, released on probation |
In 1997, Krenz was sentenced to six-and-a-half years imprisonment for Cold War crimes, specifically manslaughter of four Germans attempting to escape the communist regime over the Berlin Wall. He was also charged with electoral fraud, along with other criminal offences.
He appealed, arguing that the legal framework of the newly reunited German state did not apply to events that had taken place in the former GDR. Krenz also argued that the prosecution of former GDR officials was a breach of a personal agreement given by West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev during their talks, which led to German reunification. However, the verdict was upheld in 1999. Krenz reportedly described his conviction as "victor's justice" and "cold war in court".
Krenz began serving his sentence in Hakenfelde Prison shortly thereafter, before he was transferred to Plötzensee Prison, a prison with stricter rules.
He was released from prison in December, 2003 after serving nearly four years of his sentence, and quietly retired to Dierhagen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He remained on parole until the end of his sentence in 2006.
Unlike several other high-ranking members of the communist regime, like Günter Schabowski and Günther Kleiber, Krenz continues to defend the former German Democratic Republic and maintains he hasn't changed his political views. Krenz has on several occasions referred to the German Reunification as "Anschluss".
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