German far-left militant defiant in court after decades on the run
German far-left militant defiant in court after decades on the run
A far-left militant who went on trial in Germany over a series of armed robberies after decades on the run defiantly vowed Tuesday to keep up the fight against "capitalism and the patriarchy".
Daniela Klette, 66, is a former member of Germany's Baader-Meinhof gang, a radical anti-capitalist group that carried out a series of killings, bombings and kidnappings mainly in the 1970s and 1980s.
Klette was arrested at an apartment in Berlin's bohemian Kreuzberg neighbourhood in February 2024 after evading the authorities for more than 30 years.
Police searching the small flat found a Kalashnikov assault rifle, explosives and large sums of cash.
Klette went on trial, under tight security in the northern city of Celle, over a spate of robberies she allegedly took part in to finance her life on the run after the RAF disbanded in 1998.
Prosecutors have also formally arrested Klette over three politically motivated attacks in the 1990s, while the gang was still active, but those charges are being dealt with in separate proceedings.
Klette appeared relaxed as she entered the courtroom wearing a black sweater, her grey hair tied back in a bun, occasionally smiling and giving a thumbs-up sign.
"This trial is being conducted with political motives," she later charged in comments to the court, accusing the justice system of "defamation" against her.
"It's about settling the history of the resistance," she said, adding that she would not allow herself to be swayed in her rejection of "capitalism and the patriarchy".
Named after two of its early leaders, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, the Baader-Meinhof gang emerged out of the radical fringe of the 1960s student protest movement.
Members of the group, also known as the Red Army Faction , took up arms against what they saw as US imperialism and a "fascist" German state that was still riddled with former Nazis.
Outside the court, some 50 people joined a solidarity protest, playing punk music and holding a banner that read "Defend revolutionary history Freedom for Daniela and all political prisoners".
Klette is accused of being part of a trio along with fellow gang members Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg who were active as part of the RAF's "third generation" in the 1980s and 1990s.
After the RAF disbanded, Klette and the two men are believed to have financed their lives in hiding through armed robberies.
Police are still searching for Garweg and Staub, who if still alive are now 56 and 71 respectively.
The trial in Celle relates to four attacks on money transporters and nine cash heists from shops in which the suspects got away with a total of 2.7 million euros , according to prosecutors.
Klette is said to have acted as the getaway driver in many of the heists as well as carrying a "realistic looking" dummy bazooka.
She also faces one charge of attempted murder during a robbery in Stuhr near Bremen in 2015.
Prosecutors said the three suspects had "proceeded in an extremely conspiratorial manner", renting cars and apartments under false names and sometimes setting fire to vehicles to cover their tracks.
Klette's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case, which they said was prejudiced by media reports calling Klette a "terrorist".
"This is a level of public prejudgement that I have never experienced before," said lawyer Undine Weyers.
The trial is set to last around two years and will hear from 12 witnesses, according to the court.
Klette reportedly put up no resistance when she was arrested at her Berlin apartment, where she had apparently been hiding in plain sight for two decades.
Weeks earlier, the creators of a German "most wanted" podcast had stumbled across photos of Klette on Facebook attending capoeira classes in Berlin, although it is unclear whether this led to her arrest.
According to German media reports, she had been using a fake Italian passport and going by the name of Claudia Ivone.
Klette had no bank account and probably paid her rent in cash, possibly for several months or years at a time, according to Der Spiegel magazine.
Neighbours told the Bild daily she had a partner of about the same age as her and always greeted them when she went out walking with her dog.
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