Red Army Faction Trial Begins for Suspect Arrested After Decades on Run

The trial of Daniela Klette, a former member of the notorious far-left Red Army Faction (RAF), began Tuesday near Hanover, marking a significant development in a case that has gripped Germany, Al Jazeera reports.

Klette, 66, was arrested in Berlin last year after living a quiet life under an assumed identity for over 30 years. She is facing charges of attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms, and aggravated robbery.

Klette is accused of committing the offenses alongside Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg, also believed to be members of the RAF’s “third generation,” also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang. The RAF was largely active during the 1970s and 80s and responsible for the deaths of at least 30 people. The group disbanded in 1998, but authorities allege that Klette, Staub, and Garweg continued to engage in violent robberies to fund their lives on the run. They are accused of stealing a total of €2.7 million ($2.9 million) between 1999 and 2016.

Police are still actively searching for Staub, who would be 56, and Garweg, who would be 71, if they are still alive. Prosecutors allege the trio acted in a highly conspiratorial manner, using false names to rent cars and apartments, and even setting fire to vehicles to cover their tracks.

During the trial’s opening, prosecutors stated that Klette acted primarily as a getaway driver, although she allegedly carried a “realistic looking” dummy bazooka during the heists. She also faces a charge of attempted murder stemming from a 2015 robbery. According to Reuters, a court spokesperson stated that Klette potentially faces life in prison. The trial is expected to last approximately two years, with 12 witnesses scheduled to testify.

Klette’s arrest in February 2024 came after a tip-off from a member of the public. Police raided her Berlin apartment, where she had been using a fake Italian passport in the name of Claudia Ivone. Inside the residence, they discovered an automated assault rifle, explosives, and large sums of cash.

The trial is being held in a secure room at the Higher Regional Court in Celle due to security concerns. The building was heavily guarded by police and judicial officers armed with machine pistols and sniffer dogs. A crowd of approximately 50 protestors gathered outside, expressing solidarity with Klette. Playing punk music, they displayed a banner that read “Defend revolutionary history – Freedom for Daniela and all political prisoners.”

The RAF, named after early leaders Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, emerged from the radical fringe of the 1960s student protest movement. Initially, the group mobilized against perceived US imperialism and a “fascist” German state riddled with former Nazis. Their targets included representatives from the government, business, and the judiciary. At the height of its notoriety, the RAF was responsible for the assassination of a German bank chief and the kidnapping and murder of industrialist and former SS officer Hanns Martin Schleyer.

In separate proceedings unrelated to the current trial, Klette is also accused of involvement in a 1991 RAF attack on the US embassy in Bonn and a 1993 explosives attack against a prison.