Left-wing terrorism: Former RAF terrorist Klette accused

Charges have been brought against former RAF terrorist Daniela Klette. The public prosecutor confirmed this. The 66-year-old, who is in custody, is accused, among other things, of attempted murder in connection with 13 robberies. The investigators in Verden, Lower Saxony, also accuse her of illegal possession of weapons as well as attempted and completed aggravated robbery. The defense had previously criticized the investigation and pointed to significant deficiencies in the prosecution.

The Verden public prosecutor’s office has been investigating the 66-year-old and her alleged accomplices Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg for many years. According to the information, the search for the other two suspects continues. The trio is said to have robbed money transporters and supermarkets in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein between 1999 and 2016 in order to finance their underground life.

In total, they are said to have stolen 2.7 million euros during the crimes. According to the indictment, they usually threatened their victims with firearms or electric shockers. According to the information, Klette was usually the driver of the getaway car. The presumption of innocence applies.

Shots during attack in Stuhr

The suspects are also being investigated for attempted murder because shots were fired during a robbery in Stuhr, south of Bremen. It was the only crime in which the trio, according to the prosecution, did not gain any prey. The three suspects made their biggest haul of 1.38 million euros in June 2016 when they robbed a cash-in-transit truck in Cremlingen, Lower Saxony.

The investigators also accuse Klette of violations of the Weapons Act and the War Weapons Control Act. When she was arrested on February 26th, a Kalashnikov and a rocket-propelled grenade were found in the house.

Acts without a terrorist background

Daniela Klette belonged to the so-called third generation of the left-wing extremist Red Army Faction (RAF). In 1998 the RAF, which killed more than 30 people, declared itself disbanded. The crimes in the region had no terrorist background, as the investigators emphasize. The Verden regional court must now decide whether the charges will be admitted.

The defense spoke of a “public prejudgment” of her client and criticized the investigative authorities. “The indictment has significant deficiencies,” the lawyers told the dpa on Friday. The results of the investigation did not reveal any attempted murder in the crime in Stuhr because the driver of the cash-in-transit van was not targeted.

The court must decide whether to open the proceedings

The Verden regional court must now decide whether the charges will be admitted. According to a spokeswoman, this decision is unlikely to be made this year. The possible processor location is still unclear. Because: There is a lack of suitable premises in the city of Verden, which has a population of 28,000. The search has been going on for months. The investigators assume a large number of co-plaintiffs, witnesses and experts. In addition, high safety standards must be adhered to.

Arrest and searches in Berlin

At the end of February, investigators arrested Klette in Berlin-Kreuzberg, where she was living under an assumed name. She has been in the women’s prison in Vechta since her arrest. The pre-trial detention has already been extended once. Klette publicly denies having attempted murder and speaks of state “denunciation” and “media incitement”.

During searches of her apartment, police said they found, among other things, a dummy hand grenade, weapons, handcuffs, balaclavas, a kilogram of gold, more than 240,000 euros in cash, digital media and photos. Shortly after Klette’s arrest, investigators also confiscated a construction trailer in Berlin-Friedrichshain, where Garweg is said to have lived under the code name Martin.

Further investigations by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office

There are also arrest warrants against Klette, Staub and Garweg on suspicion of involvement in terrorist attacks. The highest prosecution authority in Germany, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe, accuses Klette of attempted murder in two cases and of complicity in explosive explosions in three RAF attacks between February 1990 and March 1993. Membership in the terrorist organization Red Army Faction (RAF) itself is now statute-barred.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is responsible for investigating the terrorist attacks. In this complex, another indictment and thus another court case against Klette are expected. The proceedings must be conducted separately from the prosecution in Verden.