Pfahls Appeals Prison Sentence

Lawyers for former German junior defense minister Ludwig-Holger Pfahls on Tuesday appealed his prison sentence on bribery and tax evasion charges stemming from an arms deal with Saudi Arabia.Attorney Volker Hoffmann said he had challenged last week's ruling, which saw Pfahls jailed for two years and three months for accepting about two million euros (2.5 million dollars) in kickbacks for arms sales and failing to declare the income. Hoffmann said he would consider withdrawing the appeal if the court agreed to release his client this month on health grounds. Pfahls, 62, served as state secretary for defense from 1987 to

1992 under Helmut Kohl. Presiding judge Maximilian Hofmeister said that while Pfahls may have greased the wheels for the deal and broken the law, he had not directly violated the duties of his office.