CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 10 novembre 2000

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .sE32676A4 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s3CA22BA { font-family:Arial; text-transform:uppercase } .sA1D3DA2E { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s94935B0F { width:389.85pt; display:inline-block } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s42A0AEC7 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s6A184BC2 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:normal } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s2E932ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:11pt } .s5E15F1C8 { width:0.33pt; display:inline-block } .sC5412BEF { width:51.05pt; display:inline-block } .s85016119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:11pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic }   European Court of Human Rights   811   10.11.2000   Press release issued by the Registrar   CASES OF STRELETZ, KESSLER, K.-H. W. AND KRENZ v. GERMANY ADMISSIBLE   On 8 November 2000 the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights declared admissible the applications in the cases of Kessler, Streletz, K.-H. W. and Krenz against Germany.   Three of the applicants were senior officials of the former GDR, namely Fritz Streletz, Deputy Minister of Defence, Heinz Kessler, Minister of Defence, and Egon Krenz, President of the State Council. K.-H. W. was a soldier of the NVA, the army of the former GDR, who was stationed on the border between the two German States.   After the reunification of the German courts the applicants Streletz, Kessler and Krenz were sentenced to terms of imprisonment of five-and-a-half years, seven-and-a-half years and six- and-a-half years respectively for incitement to commit intentional homicide. On account of their participation in decisions of the National Defence Council or the Politbüro, which had laid down the regime for the policing of the former GDR’s border, they were held to be responsible for the deaths of a number of people who had tried to flee the GDR across the border between 1971 and 1989.   After the reunification the applicant K.-H. W. was given a suspended sentence of one year and ten months’ imprisonment for intentional homicide, having been found responsible for the fatal shooting of a person who had tried to escape across the border in 1972.   The Federal Court upheld the sentences and the Federal Constitutional Court declared them to be compatible with the Constitution.   In their submissions to the Court the applicants argued in particular that at the material time their conduct was not punishable under the law of the former GDR or under international law, and that their subsequent conviction by the German courts had therefore contravened the prohibition of the retrospective application of the criminal law enshrined in Article 7 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.   ***   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15) Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.