A suspected former member of a German left-wing militant group who was once considered one of Europe’s most wanted women has been sentenced to 13 years behind bars for crimes she committed while a fugitive.
The regional court in Verden, Lower Saxony, found Daniela Klette, 67, guilty of multiple counts of aggravated robbery, extortion and weapons violations, offenses that took place between 1999 and 2016, when she was on the run from authorities after the Red Army Faction (RAF) militant group officially disbanded.
Klette is understood to have carried out these crimes alongside two alleged accomplices, Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg. The pair are also former RAF members and remain at large.
The verdict was met with outrage from some spectators in the courtroom, who shouted “Freedom for Daniela,” German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported. According to the outlet, Klette enjoys the support of some far-left circles in the country.
Klette has not yet been tried or sentenced for the crimes she allegedly committed while in the RAF, which will be handled in a separate legal case. She has not explicitly admitted to being a former RAF member.
