Former GDR leader in court

Strasbourg - East Germany's last head of state, Egon Krenz, appeared before the European Court of Human Rights yesterday to appeal…

Strasbourg - East Germany's last head of state, Egon Krenz, appeared before the European Court of Human Rights yesterday to appeal against a manslaughter conviction for shootings along the Berlin Wall.

The former communist leader, who began a 6 1/2-year sentence in January, said he was pleased that European judges did not share what he called the prejudices of western German courts when assessing East German (GDR) history.

"But I'm not sure of victory, the issue is far too complicated for that," said Krenz (63), who appeared with former defence minister, Gen Heinz Kessler, and his deputy, Fritz Streletz, at the hearing held a day before the 11th anniversary of the Wall's dramatic fall.