On 21 April 1993, Erfurt District Court declared the 1989 judgment against me contrary to the rule of law and overturned it. The decision expressly states that the conviction had served the purpose of political persecution.
The judgment is overturned
On 11 April 1989, Erfurt-Mitte Local Court sentenced me to one year and two months in prison. The charges were attempted unlawful border crossing and public denigration under Sections 213 and 220 of the East German Criminal Code. The Second Rehabilitation Division of Erfurt District Court overturned this judgment in proceedings II Reha 245/93, insofar as it concerned me. According to the wording, the annulment covers both charges.
“The applicant is rehabilitated.”
The decision recognises my deprivation of liberty from 14 February to 20 October 1989 as unjust. It also establishes my entitlement to reimbursement of the costs of the earlier criminal proceedings and necessary expenses. The decision granted my application; the prosecution had not objected. According to the decision, it was not subject to appeal.
There is therefore a judicial finding for this part of my story: the judgment against me was contrary to the rule of law and had served the purpose of political persecution. It was overturned through judicial rehabilitation.
The process from 1990 to 1993
The surviving letters document several stages. They are official replies and notifications; my own letters of application are not included in this collection.
25 May 1990: In response to my application of 4 April 1990, the Chief Public Prosecutor in Celle declared enforcement of the sentence inadmissible. The letter concerns enforcement; the later judicial annulment of the judgment is a separate step.
11 February 1993: The Chief Public Prosecutor in Erfurt informed me that my letter of 1 February had been forwarded to Erfurt District Court and the Erfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office.
2 March 1993: The District Court confirmed receipt of my rehabilitation application on 4 February 1993 and gave the case number II Reha 245/93. It requested copies of my documents from the earlier criminal proceedings. Handwritten notes on the letter record its receipt on 12 March and a reply on 15 March.
22 March 1993: The Chief Public Prosecutor reported that the Erfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office was handling the matter under its reference 22-338/92.
21 April 1993: The District Court issued the rehabilitation decision. The copy reproduced here was certified as corresponding to the original on 26 May 1993.
Documents to read
The following versions contain redactions of my addresses at the time, my date of birth in the decision and handwritten signatures. The names of certification and court office staff, as well as processing initials, are also redacted. The names of judges and prosecutors are redacted too. Court and authority names, case numbers, dates and the reasons for the decision remain legible. The redactions remove the relevant image information from the files provided.
This account is based on the five documents from my personal collection reproduced here. All eight pages were read. The decision comprises two pages; the accompanying leaflet takes up two more. The digital version reproduces the copy in my possession; it is not a newly issued court certificate.
The Celle letter refers to “Erfurt-Nord Local Court”, whereas the rehabilitation decision names “Erfurt-Mitte Local Court”. This difference remains visible in the sources; the court name in the judicial decision is used here when describing the annulment. Some original scan filenames differ from the document dates given in the text.
