WORLD : East Germany Seizes Ex-Official
Former East German Communist security chief Erich Mielke was arrested today on suspicion of sheltering fugitive West German guerrillas and planning internment camps for dissidents, authorities said.
The state press agency ADN said an arrest warrant was issued after Mielke, 82, was determined fit to be jailed pending completion of inquiries leading to possible charges and a trial.
Mielke, once top aide of former East German Stalinist leader Erich Honecker, was previously jailed after coming under investigation in December for suspected corruption, embezzlement and misrule. But he was freed later because of what officials said was poor health.
East Germany last month arrested eight fugitive Red Army Faction guerrilla suspects who officials said had lived in the country under false names for years, protected by Mielke’s State Security Ministry.
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