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| Europe |
| German militant freed after 24 years in jail |
| 2007-03-25 |
| Brigitte Mohnhaupt, a former leader of the Red Army Faction group which terrorised Germany in the 1970s, left jail Sunday after serving 24 years for a series of guerrilla murders. The plan to release the 57-year-old Mohnhaupt, who was once considered Germany's most dangerous woman, on parole has caused widespread controversy. Mohnhaupt, who was convicted for her role in nine murders in the left wing group's campaign against the West German state in the 1970s, was released from a prison in southern Germany in the early hours, justice official Wolfgang Deuschl said. "Frau Mohnhaupt has been freed," he told reporters, adding that the woman was collected at the prison by friends. A German court last month granted her parole because she has served her minimum sentence and is no longer considered a threat. But the families of the victims of the RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang, have bitterly opposed the release, partly because Mohnhaupt has never expressed remorse for the murders. An unrepentant Marxist murderer... and they let her go. She was part of the second generation of RAF leaders who took over after Ulrike Meinhof, Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe and Gudrun Ennslin were caught and committed suicide in jail. The RAF's campaign reached a bloody crescendo in the so-called German Autumn in 1977 when they kidnapped and killed leading industrialist and former Nazi Hanns-Martin Schleyer and hijacked a Lufthansa passenger plane with the help of Palestinian militants. Schleyer's widow was among those who opposed Mohnhaupt's release, saying she was "appalled" at the move. Ah. Palestinians. Who could have guessed... The RAF is believed to have killed 34 people. Its other victims include the head of Dresdner Bank, Juergen Ponto, who was shot dead on his doorstep. The group also launched attacks against US military personnel stationed in Germany. In 1981, Mohnhaupt helped to launch a rocket attack on an American general, Frederick Kroesen. He barely survived. The former philosophy student was finally arrested at an RAF arms cache in a forest near Frankfurt in 1982. With a record like that, these people should have hanged. Her release had initially been scheduled for Tuesday. Mohnhaupt has given no indication of what she wants to do outside prison. A priest who has regularly visited her in prison in Bavaria in southern Germany over the past 15 years, said she was a "very nice" person who would lead a peaceful life, like other former RAF activists who had completed their prison sentences. Gullible fool... "The RAF has renounced violence and Brigitte Mohnhaupt did so along with them," priest Siegfried Fleiner told AFP. "She is an independent and intelligent woman," he added. Fleiner said he believed Mohnhaupt will find it difficult to re-adjust to life outside prison but added: "Lately she has been reading several newspapers a day. She is very well-informed about world events." Trust me, that's not a good sign. The RAF disbanded in 1988, but the hardliners and their class war still fascinates Germans. In recent days newspapers have recalled the violence-filled German Autumn in detail. Some 20 former militants of the group have been freed after serving lengthy sentences. Only three still remain behind bars, including Christian Klar who led the group along with Mohnhaupt. Klar was last month refused prison day releases after calling for "the total defeat of the capitalists' aims" in a speech read out on his behalf at a Marxist meeting in Berlin. Mohnhaupt's release comes as Italy is again confronted with the memory of the Red Brigades, who conducted a similar anti-capitalist struggle in the 1970s, with the arrest of fugitive Cesare Battisti who was long sheltered in France. |
| Posted by:Dave D. |
| #11 Wonder how she feels about having spent 24 years in prison, while her Baader-Meinhof buddy Joschka Fischer went on to become the Foreign Minister. If she's that well-informed about world events, let's hope her top priority is to settle some old scores. |
| Posted by: exJAG 2007-03-25 20:01 |
| #10 #7 OP - I was there, too, for the beginning of it. Felt the blast at V Corps Headquarters in Frankfurt am Main. (Hoo boy, could I feel it - and I was already at home.) I vaguely knew the officer who was killed. We almost lost one of our own officers; he and his wife would have been right at blast central if his wife hadn't kept nagging that they were late for church. He was still white the next day. That any of those bastards ever see the light of day again makes my blood boil. Warmed the cockles of my cold, cold heart when Baader and Mainhof killed themselves to "further the cause"; too ba all their buddies didn't follow suit. The EUros are IDIOTS. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-03-25 18:47 |
| #9 Five terms of life for nine murders, and they let her out now? she should have been executed or kept in a dark cell until she died. Letting her go free is yet another instance of European depravity. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2007-03-25 18:12 |
| #8 Mossad needs to pop a cap in her worthless ass. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-25 17:06 |
| #7 I was in Germany some of the time when this sh$$ was going on. They found a bomb in a fire extinguisher next to the military movie theater about a half-mile from my house. The United States should demand her extradition and try her for the attempted murder of a US general officer, and lock her away for another 24 years. When she becomes eligible for parole or other release, try her again for conspiracy. Keep working until she dies of old age - in prison. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-03-25 14:42 |
| #6 That reminds me of New York Times' Terrorist's Bill of Rights Restore Habeas Corpus Stop Illegal Spying Ban Torture, Really Close the C.I.A. Prisons Account for ‘Ghost Prisoners’ Ban Extraordinary Rendition Tighten the Definition of Combatant Screen Prisoners Fairly and Effectively Ban Tainted Evidence Ban Secret Evidence Better Define ‘Classified’ Evidence Respect the Right to Counsel |
| Posted by: SwissTex 2007-03-25 10:34 |
| #5 I agree with exJag and as long as "They" use common law for terrorists it'll happen again. Below is a timeline of Mohnhaupt's major acts as a member of the RAF. (From Wikipedia) * 9 June 1972: Mohnhaupt was arrested in Berlin in connection with the RAF and sentenced to prison for involvement with a criminal organization, identity document forgery, and illegal weapon possession. * Shortly after Ulrike Meinhof's death in prison in 1976, Mohnhaupt was, on her own request, transferred to Stammheim Prison where the majority of other RAF prisoners were held captive. In Stammheim Prison she met Ensslin, Baader, and Raspe, and was reportedly trained by them to become a leader of the RAF. * She was released on 8 February 1977, and immediately went underground and continued her work with the RAF. * Mohnhaupt was a major player in the German Autumn: she was involved in the 30 July 1977 killing of banker Jürgen Ponto, chairman of the Dresdner Bank board of directors in Oberursel, Taunus, during a botched kidnapping attempt with Susanne Albrecht and Christian Klar and was also involved in the kidnapping and murder of employer representative Hanns Martin Schleyer. * 11 May 1978 Mohnhaupt , Sieglinde Hofmann, Rolf Clemens Wagner, and Peter-Jürgen Boock were arrested in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. * November 1978 - Mohnhaupt was allowed to leave Yugoslavia for a country of her choice because West Germany refused to exchange Yugoslav prisoners for her. * 15 September 1981 Mohnhaupt took part in an assassination attempt on U.S. General Frederick Kroesen using an RPG-7 anti-tank rocket On 11 November 1982 Mohnhaupt, along with Adelheid Schulz, was caught entering an RAF arms cache in the woods near Frankfurt which had been staked out by GSG9 men. Mohnhaupt was detained and sentenced to five terms of life in prison with a minimum 24-year mandatory sentence by the Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart. |
| Posted by: SwissTex 2007-03-25 10:24 |
| #4 Cut to first scene in the movie the 'Godfather'. When the state refuses victims justice, they go elsewhere to get it. In the end it undermines the power and legitimacy of the state when it plays these games. However, watch as the state will hammer any player who is a threat to its power far greater than any player who simply a threat to its citizens. It's not about justice. It's about power. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-03-25 08:37 |
| #3 their passivity is rational, based on the accurate assessment that their efforts would be wasted. And genetic. The one's who'd behave differently came over here centuries ago. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-03-25 08:09 |
| #2 IMHO, they didn't talk about lobbying, protesting, or changing the laws because it doesn't work. European political parties always have to form coalitions, which requires compromise and consensus. Meaning, their positions often become indistinguishable, so voting or speaking out doesn't make a difference. Further, Europeans have spent centuries as serfs and are conditioned into that mindset; individually lobbying for change simply isn't, and never has been, a feature of the civic culture. Call them sheep -- or "good Germans" -- but their passivity is rational, based on the accurate assessment that their efforts would be wasted. |
| Posted by: exJAG 2007-03-25 08:06 |
| #1 Last month, I heard part of a BBC Radio "Have Your Say" segment on this. Each German they spoke wth decried the release, but said that it was the law, th epoliticians and legislators ha decided, and nothing more was to be done. None of them suggested working to change the laws, lobbying legislators, or protesting to the judges. They were all sheep. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2007-03-25 07:14 |