Honecker Freed; Court Says He’s Too Ill for Jail
EAST BERLIN — Former East German Communist leader Erich Honecker was released from detention Tuesday after a court ruled he is too ill to be held.
Honecker, 77, still faces a trial for treason and corruption in March.
Honecker, was released from the official ADN news agency said.
The former hard-line leader, who is recovering from cancer surgery, was detained and whisked to the Rummelsburg detention center when he left a hospital Monday. However, the East Berlin city court said Tuesday that he is too ill “at the moment” to be held.
Honecker, who ruled East Germany for two decades, was ousted by popular protests last October.
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