Berlin Wall guards acquitted of shooting

Three former East German border guards have been acquitted of shooting a 14-year-old boy as he fled across the Berlin Wall four decades ago .

Werner Goerlich and Arno Endter, both 65, and Heinrich Hamel, 59, were accused of the attempted manslaughter of Wilfried Tews in May 1962.

Presiding judge, Peter Marhofer, said the Berlin state court was unable to establish with certainty their guilt.

Tews, now 54, was seriously wounded by automatic weapons fire as he swam across a canal from East to West Berlin. He was left partially disabled.

Last month, Goerlich told Tews in court that he did not shoot at him and fired only warning shots. The other two defendants remained silent.

Hundreds of former East German guards and officials have been convicted since 1990 for shootings at the former border, where more than 950 people died while trying to flee to the west.