The RAF terrorist Daniela Klette has been hiding in Berlin for decades. She is caught on Monday – there is talk of a “masterpiece”. But weeks before, a podcast appeared that basically exposed Klette.
This article first appeared at ntv.de
The investigators are rejoicing: Daniela Klette, who is considered to be the 3rd generation of the Red Army Faction (RAF), . After decades of manhunt, after countless posters with her face, she was arrested in Berlin on Monday evening. On a subsequent one there is talk of a “milestone”, a “masterpiece”.
But a podcast that appeared at the end of December is now clouding this celebration. Because the journalists were already on Klette’s trail and exposed her in Berlin. There was just no contact.
“Legion: Hacking Anonymous” is the name of the 2022 podcast, which is actually about the hacker collective Anonymous. However, two new episodes under the title appeared at the end of last year. Previously, a listener of the original program contacted presenter Khesrau Behroz to tell him about a meeting with a woman in Cologne who identified herself to him as Daniela Klette, one of the most wanted people in Europe.
The journalists then receive technical assistance from Bellingcat journalist Michael Colborne. He is a specialist in image analysis tools that use artificial intelligence to compare faces and identify aged people. Actually, that’s how Colborne looks for war criminals. In this case, however, he helps the “Legion” makers. However, no match was found for the woman from Cologne with Klette’s old wanted posters.
“…that this woman is Daniela Klette”
But even though this trail peters out, the journalists continue to search. Because Colborne uses another software that uses old pictures of the RAF terrorist to search for similar faces on the Internet. So he finds a woman in Berlin who looks like an aged burdock, with dark circles under her eyes and long hair. “There is a lot of evidence to suggest that this woman is Daniela Klette,” Colborne says in the podcast. And the photos of these women point to a Capoeira club in Berlin.
host Khesrau Behroz told the that his team was pleased to have “confirmation that we were actually very close.” The reason they didn’t pursue the trail any further was because the podcast was supposed to come out before Christmas. The chairman of the Berlin dance club, Mestre Pim-Pim, also confirms the identity. He told him that Klette had trained in the club. “It’s all terrible. I’m very, very sad.”
No information to the investigators
But the podcast also leaves questions unanswered: Why did Burdock pose for pictures that are freely accessible and findable on the Internet? Did she feel so safe in Kreuzberg or did she underestimate the technical possibilities? Did Klette know about the podcast about the search for her? If so, why didn’t she flee Berlin? And did the podcast play a role in the investigations by the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office?
Red Army Fraction
30 years of left-wing terror – the chronicle of the RAF in Germany
According to their own statements, the tip that led to Klette’s capture did not come from the journalists. “We don’t work with the investigative authorities – also to protect our sources. They don’t get any tips or information from us,” Behroz told the “Bild” newspaper.
There could therefore be a sequel from him and the “Legion” team. “There is still a lot to tell,” he told the “Tagesspiegel”. For example, that Burdock was found with a fairly simple search. “This has social and criminal implications that we would like to investigate.”
You can find the podcast “Legion: Hacking Anonymous” on all common podcast platforms, Transparency note: The star is part of RTL Deutschland.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
