On the run after 30 years: RAF terrorist Daniela Klette arrested in Berlin
According to the public prosecutor's office, the police arrested Klette in Berlin-Kreuzberg on Monday. She is one of a trio of former members of the RAF who have been in hiding for a long time.
Klette is counted among the third generation of the left-wing extremist Red Army Faction (RAF). Representatives of this generation are said to have killed the then head of Deutsche Bank, Alfred Herrhausen, and the head of Treuhand, Detlev Karsten Rohwedder. She is one of a trio of former members of the RAF who have been on the run for more than 30 years.
The public prosecutor's office is investigating Daniela Klette, Volker Staub and their alleged RAF accomplice Burkhard Garweg for attempted murder and several armed robberies of cash transporters between 1999 and 2016. The trio is also being searched for internationally. Two weeks ago, the ZDF program "Aktenzeichen XY ... unsolved" reported on the three wanted persons.
DNA traces led investigators to believe that the three could be responsible for robberies of cash-in-transit companies and supermarkets between 1999 and 2016. Crime scenes included Osnabrück, Wolfsburg and Stuhr in Lower Saxony as well as Hagen and Bochum-Wattenscheid in North Rhine-Westphalia.
New clues after "Aktenzeichen XY ... unsolved" program
It is striking that almost all of the crimes were committed in connection with public holidays, the public prosecutor's office in Verden announced after the "Aktenzeichen XY ... unsolved" program. It was also striking that the escape vehicles, some of which were stolen and some of which were bought, had been in the possession of the perpetrators for some time.
However, it was initially unknown where the vehicles were parked during this time; according to the prosecution, some of them must have been parked for a long time. The public prosecutor's office assumes that the attacks were not politically motivated. The accused are said to have committed the crimes in order to obtain money. Further robberies are possible.
In the 70s and 80s, the RAF caused terror in the Federal Republic of Germany with attacks and kidnappings, with a total of more than 30 murders to its credit. In 1998, the RAF declared itself disbanded. There is no evidence that the former terrorist organization is still active.
After the "XY... unsolved" program, the police in Wuppertal arrested a man and his companion on a regional train after a witness pointed out Ernst-Volker Staub. The police said that the man resembled him. A short time later, however, the all-clear was given: "The initial suspicions about the man's identity were not confirmed."
"The fact that the wanted man was in Kreuzberg is further proof that Berlin continues to be a stronghold for a well-connected nationwide and global left-wing extremist scene," explains Benjamin Jendro, spokesman for the Berlin Police Union.
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