Trial against ex-RAF terrorist Klette: A legal drama in Verden!

In February 2024, the suspected ex-RAF terrorist Daniela Klette was arrested in Berlin. The Verden public prosecutor's office brought charges against Klette for attempted murder, illegal possession of weapons and attempted and completed aggravated robbery. The indictment covers acts committed between 1999 and 2016, and Klette's alleged accomplices, Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub, are also in focus.

The indictment concerns a total of 13 robberies on cash-in-transit vehicles and supermarkets in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, which caused total damage of over 2.7 million euros. Shots were fired during a robbery in Stuhr, which led to the murder allegations. Klette is currently living under a false name in the women's prison in Vechta, where she has been in custody since her arrest. The pre-trial detention has already been extended and arrest warrants exist for Klette, Staub and Garweg on suspicion of involvement in terrorist attacks.

Special challenges for the judiciary

The Verden Regional Court will decide in the new year whether to open the proceedings. Lower Saxony's Justice Minister Kathrin Wahlmann (SPD) speaks of an extraordinary trial because it involves acts that did not take place in Lower Saxony. This could lead to more than 20 possible co-plaintiffs, which could exceed the court's spatial capacity. Wahlmann said that the judiciary is facing organizational challenges, but is optimistic about finding space.

The Verden public prosecutor's office has been focusing on Klette and her alleged accomplices for several years. After Klette's arrest, solidarity rallies took place in Vechta and Berlin, attended by several hundred participants. Wahlmann noted that there is not much public support for burdock; The participants are mostly well-known faces from the scene.

During searches of Klette's apartment, weapons, a dummy hand grenade, handcuffs, a kilogram of gold, more than 240,000 euros in cash and digital media were found, among other things. The trailer in Berlin-Friedrichshain where Garweg lived was also searched. The federal prosecutor's office also accuses Klette of attempted murder in two cases and complicity in three RAF explosive attacks between 1990 and 1993. Klette himself denies the murder attempts and speaks of state denunciation and media incitement. Membership in the RAF has now expired.