A German court today sentences former Red Army Faction (RAF) member Daniela Klette to 13 years in prison for her role in a series of armed robberies committed after the militant group’s dissolution. The Landgericht Verden finds the 67-year-old guilty of six counts of aggravated robbery, rejecting her defense’s argument that evidence failed to link her to the crimes.
Prosecutors accused Klette of participating in eight heists between 1999 and 2016 alongside alleged accomplices Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub, netting over €2 million. The court’s verdict follows a trial that began after Klette’s arrest in Berlin in early 2024, ending years of living underground. While her lawyers argued the case relied on circumstantial evidence, judges ruled her involvement proven, citing forensic traces and witness testimony .
Klette, a former member of the RAF’s third generation, had evaded capture since the group’s formal disbandment in 1998. The robberies—targeting cash-in-transit vehicles and banks—were allegedly used to fund the fugitives’ lives in hiding. Authorities had long suspected Klette, Garweg, and Staub of forming a post-RAF criminal cell, though the latter two remain at large .
The verdict marks the first successful prosecution of a former RAF member for post-dissolution crimes, setting a precedent for ongoing investigations into Garweg and Staub. Klette’s legal team has not yet announced whether she will appeal.