80-Year-Old Ex-Stasi Officer Sentenced to 10 Years for 1974 Murder of Pole in Berlin

In a landmark ruling, an 80-year-old former Stasi officer, Manfred N., was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Berlin Land Court today for the murder of a 38-year-old Polish man, Czeslaw Kukucka, nearly five decades ago.

The crime occurred in 1974 on the border between East and West Berlin, where Kukucka was attempting to flee to the West. The court found that the then-31-year-old Stasi lieutenant shot Kukucka in the back after he had his passport stamped and was en route from East Germany (GDR) to West Germany (FRG).For decades, the murderer had lived quietly in a private house near Leipzig, undetected. The trial, which began on March 14, gained widespread attention. The German prosecutor's office, along with the children and sister of the victim, acted as co-defendants in the case. Witnesses included schoolchildren from Hesse who were crossing the border at the time and saw the incident unfold.

Throughout the high-profile trial, Manfred N. remained silent, never offering an explanation for the killing. The sentencing brings closure to a case that has haunted the victim's family for nearly 50 years.