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| Europe |
| Former German terrorist released after 26 years |
| 2008-12-20 |
| Throughout the 1970s, the Red Army Faction was the scourge of capitalist West Germany and Christian Klar one of its most notorious leaders--the force behind a murder spree that included the slayings of a federal prosecutor, an industrialist and the chief of a major bank. On Friday, Klar walked free from prison after 26 years--angering family and friends of victims and many Germans who recalled the fear of living through the Marxist-Leninist group's terror campaign, which killed 34 people and injured hundreds before the group formally disbanded in 1998. Opponents of Klar's release argue he has never expressed regret for his crimes, nor explicitly distanced himself from the Red Army Faction mantra that it was justified in its brutal response to what it viewed as capitalist oppression of workers and U.S. imperialism in West Germany. "That a hardened criminal who was handed six life sentences could be released under such circumstances may be legally justifiable, but remains very difficult to accept," said Stephan Mayer, a lawmaker for the conservative Christian Democratic Union. German law is based on the principle of rehabilitation and it is very common for convicted murderers to serve less than 20 years for life sentences. Several other former members of the Red Army Faction have also been released. Only one former member of the group, Birgit Hogefeld, remains in prison. She will be eligible for parole in 2011. Yet as a ringleader of the group's second generation, which carried out the "German Autumn," an especially bloody period of leftist violence in late 1977, Klar is perhaps Germany's most prominent former left-wing terrorist to walk free. As the decades have passed, the Red Army Faction has become the stuff of pop culture, giving rise to a string of television dramas and feature films, many of which have faced criticism for glamorizing the era and portraying the young killers as Robin Hood-type characters. Several of the group's symbols, such as its trademark machine gun and red star, have found their way into fashion items, from T-shirts to infant's bodysuits marked "Terrorist." The latest movie, "The Baader Meinhof Complex," directed by Uli Edel, came out in September and has been chosen as Germany's contender for a foreign-language Oscar nomination--despite criticism from families of the gang members that it misrepresents the group and is too violent. In its early years RAF was often referred to as the Baader-Meinhof gang, after leading members Andreas Baader--who killed himself in prison after failed efforts to secure his release through extortion--and Ulrike Meinhof, who also committed suicide in prison. Under Klar, the so-called second generation of the group went on to bomb U.S. military targets and assassinate a string of business and political figures. Among the murders for which Klar was convicted were those of chief West German federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback, industrial association head Hanns-Martin Schleyer, and Dresdner Bank chief Juergen Ponto--all carried out in 1977. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 As one (of many) who felt one of their bombs explode, this sucks rocks. "he has never expressed regret for his crimes" That would be because he doesn't regret what they did - only that they didn't kill more. You can't join your buddies Baader and Meinhof in HELL too soon, asshole. >:-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-12-20 20:01 |
| #2 There's probably a tenured professorship awaiting him at University of Illinois. Or - perhaps he will be recruited into a respected position within the Obamanation administration, as Homeland Security official, or something like that. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2008-12-20 04:22 |
| #1 He's not German anymore? |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-12-20 01:51 |