Former RAF member: The first trial against Daniela Klette nears verdict

The trial of Daniela Klette, a former member of the left-wing extremist Red Army Fraction (RAF), is reaching its climax after more than a year of hearings. Klette, who evaded authorities for decades, was apprehended in Berlin in February 2024. She had been living under an alias, engaging in activities like dance classes and attending book readings, while secretly storing a significant arsenal of weapons in her apartment, including a Czech submachine gun, a Kalashnikov, and three pistols.

These findings underscore her past as a terrorist. Authorities allege that from 1999 to 2016, Klette, along with fellow fugitives Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub, committed several robberies. These acts are believed to have been a means to finance their lives in hiding, though they are not attributed to Klette's active period with the RAF.

The RAF, founded in the early 1970s, waged a campaign against capitalist society, targeting institutions like U.S. military facilities in Germany and right-wing media. Its prominent early members included Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Ulrike Meinhof. The current trial focuses on the post-RAF activities, with a verdict anticipated soon. The investigation also continues into the whereabouts of Garweg and Staub.