Alleged Stasi Hitman Released

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday ordered the release of a man suspected of committing mass murder as a contract killer for the former East German secret police. The 53-year-old Berlin man, arrested in September on suspicion of the killings, was released by a federal court after investigators failed to turn up proof he had committed the alleged crimes. However, prosecutors said the man is still a suspect in its case and that the investigation will continue. Police believe the man served as a hitman for a special Stasi commando squad in East Germany between 1976 and 1987.