Daniela Klette, a 67-year-old former member of the militant Red Army Faction (RAF), has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for a series of violent armed robberies. The verdict, delivered by a court in Verden, Lower Saxony, concludes a trial centered on a string of heists targeting supermarkets and armored transport vehicles between 1999 and 2016. During this period, Klette and her accomplices allegedly stole significant sums of money, including a 2016 raid that netted nearly €1.4 million.

Klette’s capture in February 2024 brought an end to over three decades as a fugitive. Living under an assumed identity in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district, she was eventually identified through the use of advanced facial recognition technology that matched historical wanted posters to recent online imagery. Upon her arrest, authorities discovered a cache of weapons, ammunition, false identification documents, and a substantial amount of cash in her apartment. Despite the evidence, her defense team had sought an acquittal, arguing that the prosecution failed to definitively link her to the specific robberies.

While the court’s recent ruling focused on her criminal activities during her time in hiding, Klette remains a figure of significant interest to federal prosecutors regarding her earlier association with the RAF. The group, which was responsible for a wave of kidnappings, bombings, and murders throughout the 1970s and 1980s, has long since disbanded, but legal proceedings regarding her alleged complicity in three specific attacks from the 1990s are still being considered. These include a 1990 bombing attempt at a Deutsche Bank facility, a 1991 shooting at the U.S. embassy in Bonn, and a 1993 prison bombing.

As Klette begins her sentence, the search continues for her two remaining accomplices, Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub. Both individuals have managed to evade capture for years, and authorities remain uncertain whether they are still residing within Germany or have fled abroad. The case has reignited public interest in the legacy of the RAF, a group that remains a dark chapter in German history, while highlighting the persistence of investigators in tracking down long-term fugitives.