Egon Krenz, East Germany's last hard-line communist leader, was taken into custody Aug. 25 after a judge finished reading a verdict sentencing him to six and a half years in jail for manslaughter.

Presiding judge Josef Hoch said Krenz, convicted for the deaths of refugees trying to flee over the Berlin Wall, had to be taken into custody immediately to prevent him from leaving the country. Hoch said there was a danger Krenz could try to escape, given the length of the sentence.