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Article: East German Spy Masters Won't Face Jail; High Court Rules Bonn Cannot Prosecute Most Ex-Agents for Treason
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 24, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Germany's Constitutional Court ruled today that former East German
spy masters cannot be prosecuted for conducting Cold War espionage
against the West.
The 5-to-3 ruling effectively grants a blanket amnesty to the
likes of Markus Wolf, the legendary chief of East Germany's foreign
intelligence service who had been sentenced to six years in prison
for treason against Germany.
Dozens and possibly hundreds of other former East Germans will no
longer face prosecution or will have guilty verdicts voided by the
ruling, political and legal observers predicted. The decision
provoked angry protests from conservative western Germans unwilling
to let Cold War bygones be bygones, as well as from former ...