Daniela Klette, allegedly one of the last remaining members of the far-left terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF), has been standing trial for her part in a series of armed robberies of supermarkets and cash transporters. She has been found guilty and now faces 13 years in prison.
She has now also been found guilty of kidnapping for ransom and attempted kidnapping for ransom, aggravated robbery, and violations of gun laws. As the verdict was announced, unrest broke out among the approximately 50 spectators in the courtroom, who shouted "Freedom for Daniela."
The court found that Klette committed the crimes together with the fugitive suspected former RAF members Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub to finance their life in hiding. Their targets were armored trucks and cashier offices at large supermarkets; according to the indictment, the total haul amounted to €2.4 million ($2.8 million).
The 67-year-old, who had been living in Berlin under a false identity for more than 30 years, could face yet another trial as federal prosecutors brought additional charges of attempted murder related to attacks dating back to the early 1990s, when the so-called "third generation" of the RAF was at its most active. Any terrorism charges, under which Klette would almost certainly have been charged had she been caught earlier, have passed their statute of limitations.
