East German border guards freed

At least 109 people died trying to breach the wall in its 28 years of existence

BERLIN, Germany -- A Berlin court has acquitted three former East German border guards who fired a hail of bullets as a teenager tried to escape East Berlin 40 years ago.

They were freed by Berlin state court judge Peter Marhofer due to lack of evidence.

Seven of 121 bullets fired hit 14-year-old Winifried Tews as he swam through a canal under the Berlin Wall, which had been built the year before.

The shooting escalated into a major East-West Cold War confrontation after an East German guard died in an exchange of gunfire.

"It was nonstop, like in a Western," Tews, now 54, told the court two weeks ago when giving evidence. "When I was in the canal there was shooting. I dived, then I was shot in the lung and I could dive no more."

The ex-guards -- Werner Goerlich and Arno Endter, both 65, and Heinrich Hamel, 59 -- came face to face with the boy whose escape they witnessed on May 23, 1962.

He is partially disabled because of the shooting and wears special shoes.

Last month, Goerlich told Tews in court that he did not shoot at him and fired only warning shots. The other two defendants remained silent.

The court ruled however it did not have enough evidence to determine who had fired the shots that hit Tews and so was forced to acquit the three of attempted murder.

"The court is by no means convinced of the innocence of the accused," Judge Peter Marhofer said.

But he said the shots that hit Tews could have come from Peter Goering, the first East German border guard to be killed after the wall was built. He was shot dead when West German police opened fire to protect Tews.

Goering, who died aged 21, was celebrated as a hero in East Germany, with schools, streets and army barracks named after him. A 1991 investigation into Goering's death concluded West Berlin police had acted to protect Tews.

Since Germany was reunited in 1990 there have been many trials of East German border guards accused of shooting people trying to escape from the communist East. Most have received suspended sentences.

East Germany's last Stalinist leader, Egon Krenz, who was in charge when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, was convicted of manslaughter for shootings at the former border. He is serving a six-and-a-half year sentence.

Estimates of the numbers killed in attempted escapes vary substantially. Berlin prosecutors say there were 109 deaths. A group representing victims puts the figure at 238, including many cases that only came to light after the wall was demolished.