BERLIN : Honecker Trial
- Share via
Cancer specialists are scheduled to examine Erich Honecker today to determine whether the 80-year-old former East German Communist leader is too frail to survive his sensational manslaughter trial.
The Berlin District Court will rule on the oncologists’ findings Thursday. Honecker has been diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer, and his defense attorneys maintain he has only a few months to live.
Honecker, who supervised construction of the Berlin Wall, is charged with manslaughter for his alleged “shoot to kill” order against any East Germans trying to flee across the deadly frontier.
An opinion poll released last week by the Hamburg-based Institute for Applied Social Sciences showed that 39% of eastern Germans and 25% of western Germans surveyed think the trial should be aborted.
If freed, Honecker is expected to go to Chile to join his wife, Margot, his daughter and grandchild.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
