How German podcast tracked down fugitive militant after 30 years

[mahatmakanejeeves]

How German podcast tracked down fugitive militant after 30 years

2 days ago
By Tim Mansel,
BBC News, Berlin


Former Red Army Faction (RAF) member Daniela Klette was wanted for attempted murder and aggravated robbery

Daniela Klette lived quietly. She walked her dog and gave maths tuition to her neighbours’ children. ... But when she was arrested in late February, the police found tens of thousands of euros in cash in her Berlin flat and five weapons, among them a Kalashnikov assault rifle and a replica rocket launcher.

Klette, 65, had been on the run for more than 30 years. She was wanted for crimes connected to the left-wing militant Red Army Faction (RAF), which was active in Germany from the 1970s to the 1990s. ... Known in its early days as the Baader Meinhof group, the gang pursued their political aims through the kidnap or murder of senior members of the business and industrial communities.

The RAF’s notoriety had led to a podcast team in Berlin trying to track Klette down using a facial recognition tool. ... The podcast ran shortly before Christmas, only weeks before the arrest. But police deny a connection. They say they had a tip-off from a member of the public


German police arrested Daniela Klette in February

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[Jacson6]

1. When I was in Germany 40 years ago a male RAF member was spotted outside of our post.

A member of the German public swore it was him. It does make you nervous for your family if it happens to you. They had bombed a USAF base in Frankfurt a couple of years earlier.