On 7 December 1989, Erich Mielke was arrested and placed in solitary confinement for embezzlement of public funds in order to improve his hunting estate.
He was charged with "Damaging the People's Economy" (Schädigung der Volkswirtschaft).
On 7 January 1990, he was further charged with high treason and conspiring with Erich Honecker to bug the telephones and open the mail of every one of East Germany's citizens.

Meanwhile, the Federal Constitutional Court announced that Mielke had also been indicted for having ordered two terrorist attacks by the Baader-Meinhoff Group against United States military personnel who were stationed on West German soil.
The first was the car bomb attack against the United States Air Force at Ramstein Air Base on 31 August 1981.
The second was the attempted murder with an RPG-7 anti-tank rocket of United States Army General Frederick Kroesen, his wife, and the West German police officer who was driving their armored Mercedes at Heidelberg on 15 September 1981.

After German reunification in October 1990, Mielke was also indicted for ordering the shootings of defectors at the Berlin Wall.
He was also charged with misuse of office, breach of trust, and incitement to pervert the course of justice.
On 7 December 1989, Erich Mielke was arrested and placed in solitary confinement for embezzlement of public funds in order to improve his hunting estate. He was charged with "Damaging the People's Economy" (Schädigung der Volkswirtschaft). On 7 January 1990, he was further charged with high treason and conspiring with Erich Honecker to bug the telephones and open the mail of every one of East Germany's citizens.
Meanwhile, the Federal Constitutional Court announced that Mielke had also been indicted for having ordered two terrorist attacks by the Baader-Meinhoff Group against United States military personnel who were stationed on West German soil. The first was the car bomb attack against the United States Air Force at Ramstein Air Base on 31 August 1981. The second was the attempted murder with an RPG-7 anti-tank rocket of United States Army General Frederick Kroesen, his wife, and the West German police officer who was driving their armored Mercedes at Heidelberg on 15 September 1981.
After German reunification in October 1990, Mielke was also indicted for ordering the shootings of defectors at the Berlin Wall. He was also charged with misuse of office, breach of trust, and incitement to pervert the course of justice.
Erich Mielke