German police make arrests in decades-old Red Army Faction case

Daniela Klette, a former member of Germany's Red Army Faction militant group, was apprehended in Berlin on Monday after evading authorities for decades on charges related to armed robbery and attempted murder.

Klette, 65, part of what's termed as the third generation of the militant organization, had long eluded capture alongside two other associates, Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub. They were wanted for multiple robberies and at least one attempted murder.

"Friedo de Vries, head of the criminal investigation department in Lower Saxony, announced yesterday evening that Daniela Klette was successfully apprehended in a Berlin apartment," stated Friedo de Vries during a press briefing on Tuesday. "She did not resist arrest."

During the briefing's conclusion, de Vries mentioned a second arrest in Berlin, though the detainee's identity remained unconfirmed.

In 2016, German police released a simulated image of what Daniela Klette (right) would look like now, as well as two other wanted people - Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub

Following a public tip-off in November, law enforcement intensified efforts to capture the fugitives. Subsequently, a televised appeal generated an additional 250 tips, currently under investigation.

"Terrorism will be combated using all legal measures," declared Lower Saxony's interior minister, Daniela Behrens. "Terrorists can never rest assured, even after three decades."

Authorities discovered a pistol, two magazines, and cartridges in the Berlin apartment where Klette was found. She was later transported via helicopter to a detention facility in Bremen.

The Red Army Faction, initially founded by Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, emerged from German student protests against the Vietnam War. During its peak in the 1970s, the group committed numerous acts of violence, including hostage-taking and the murder of 33 individuals, including public figures, law enforcement officers, business executives, and U.S. soldiers.

Klette, Garweg, and Staub are suspected of perpetrating a series of armed robberies between 1999 and 2016 to sustain their life as fugitives. However, these crimes were not executed under the auspices of the RAF, as the group officially disbanded in 1998. They conveyed this decision via an anonymous letter sent to Reuters' office in Cologne, declaring the end of the "urban guerrilla group in the form of the RAF."