German police leave the scene of the arrest of Daniela Klette Photo: JOHN MCDOUGALL/AFP
An elderly member of the German left-wing extremist Red Army Faction (RAF), who spent three decades on the run was arrested in Berlin after a Crimewatch-style TV program was broadcast.
German police arrested Daniela Klette, known to neighbors as Claudia, during a raid on her Berlin apartment, according to German authorities. following a tip from a member of the public.
The 65-year-old is one of three people known as «RAF Pensioners» who have been on the run since the 1990s and wanted for a series of armed robberies, among other crimes, allegedly committed by the RAF, a far-left guerrilla group also known as the Baader Gang. -Meinhof.
The extremist group, named after its founders Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, launched a domestic terrorist campaign of kidnappings and murders across West Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.
p>The Air Force has positioned itself as a resistance movement against what is perceived as fascist West Germany, with a particular focus on former Nazis holding senior government positions and key roles in the economy.
Klette is suspected of involvement in the 1991 gun attack on the US embassy in Bonn. Photo: EPA
It is believed that at least 30 kills were carried out by three variants of the RAF group. Ms Klette herself is suspected of involvement in the 1991 gun attack on the US embassy in Bonn, the 1993 Weiterstadt prison bombing and a series of armed robberies.
The result appears to have been Ms Klette's arrest. special broadcast on Aktenzeichen XY, a German crime program similar to Britain's Crimewatch, which profiled her and two other members of the so-called third generation of the Royal Air Force who remain at large.
The program focused on a series of robberies that occurred between 1999 and 2016, which were reportedly carried out to finance gang members living underground.
After the program aired, more than 250 messages were sent from police. offering a reward of €150,000 (£128,000) for information on the whereabouts of the trio.
According to the German tabloid Bild, Ms Klette has been living under her false name in an apartment in Berlin for the past 20 years. Kreuzberg area.
“Milestone arrest”
An unnamed neighbor told the newspaper that Ms Kette was friendly and worked as a tutor. “She was very sweet. She also had a dog… a big white dog,” she said. “Is she supposed to be a terrorist? I can’t believe it now, I’m in complete shock.”
Ms Klett lived in the apartment with an unknown partner of the same age. Hyrja Durak, a 46-year-old resident of the apartment building, told Bild: “The couple were very friendly and always greeted us pleasantly.”
Investigators said they found two magazines and ammunition for a handgun in the apartment. Spiegel magazine reported that she has an Italian passport.
Daniela Behrens, Lower Saxony's interior minister, called the arrest a «milestone» in Germany's criminal history. “Terrorists can never feel safe… we do not forget. We continue to investigate tirelessly,” she said.
Prominent victims of RAF attacks over the years include Jürgen Ponto, head of Dresdner Bank, Herold von Braunmühl, a senior West German diplomat, and Siegfried Buback, Attorney General West Germany. The group officially disbanded in 1988.
During the attack on Weiterstadt prison, in which Ms. Klette is suspected of involvement, five bombs containing 200 kg of explosives were used to partially destroy the prison.
< p>German authorities said Tuesday evening that a second man had been arrested as part of the same investigation into members of the Royal Air Force, but his identity had not yet been confirmed.
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