Berlin - A former East German border guard chief went on trial yesterday over the killing of Chris Guffroy, the last person shot while trying to escape to the West just nine months before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Ronald Fabian (43) is charged with incitement to manslaughter for ordering border guards under his command to do all in their power to prevent fleeing East Germans crossing to the West, including shooting to kill as a last resort.
Guffroy (20), was gunned down on February 5th, 1989, nine months before the Wall - which divided West and communist East Berlin during the Cold War - came down in the face of popular unrest across Eastern Europe.