Former member of German leftist militant group to be released
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5051770,00.html
23.12.2009
A German court has ordered the release of Verena Becker, a former
member of the Baader-Meinhof Gang who is remains accused of
complicity in three murders in committed more than three decades ago.
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A German court has ordered the release of a former member of the
Baader-Meinhof Gang, a far-left militant group active in West Germany
during the late 1970's and early 1980's. Verena Becker, 57, was
arrested in August on suspicion of complicity in the killing of chief
federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and two other people on April
7th, 1977. Although she is set to be released, she still remains a
suspect in connection with the murders.
"At the current stage of the investigation, although the accused is
not believed to have participated in committing the murder, she is
strongly suspected of three counts of abetting murder." the Federal
Court of Justice said in a statement. "(However) there is no
compelling reason for her continued imprisonment on remand."
New forensic technology reopened case
The murder case of Buback and the two other victims was re-opened in
April 2008, after investigators used the latest forensic technology
to examine a letter that claimed responsibility for the murders.
Becker's DNA was found on the letter, leading police to raid her
house, where they found more incriminating evidence.
Becker has previously spent time behind bars, after being sentenced
to life in prison in December 1977 for taking part in at least six
assassination attempts. However, she was later pardoned and released in 1989.
The Baader-Meinhof Gang, also known as the Red Army Faction (RAF),
was active in a violent campaign against German elites and US
military bases in West Germany. The group, which officially disbanded
in 1998, is suspected of killing at least 34 people.
A German documentary released earlier this year alleges that Becker
was in fact a mole for the West German government, and received more
than 100,000 Deutschmarks (50,000 euros) for her information on the RAF.
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RAF's Becker released from custody
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091223-24145.html
Published: 23 Dec 09
Former Red Army Faction (RAF) member Verena Becker is once again free
after being held for four months over her suspected involvement in
the 1977 murder of West Germany's Chief Federal Prosecutor Siegfried Buback.
The federal court in Karlsruhe ruled there was not enough evidence
that she was directly involved in the killing and ordered her release
from remand, though she remained under suspicion on three counts of
abetting the murder.
Federal prosecutors said they would press fresh murder charges
against Becker in the spring.
She had been arrested in August after prosecutors said they had found
new DNA evidence linking her to the murder.
"At the current stage of the investigation, although the accused is
not believed to have participated in committing the murder, she is
strongly suspected of three counts of abetting murder," the court
said in a statement.
"(However) there is no compelling reason for her continued
imprisonment on remand," it said, adding that it saw no danger of her
attempting to flee.
The court noted the 57-year-old had lived for nearly 20 years in her
sister's house in Berlin and had a ''stable existence.''
Becker is a former member of the ultra-leftist RAF also known as
the Baader Meinhof gang which terrorised West Germany in the 1970s
with a string of politically motivated murders. She has been on
remand since the arrest.
But the court ordered that she be released, saying there was not
sufficient evidence that she took part in the murder.
Prosecutors had claimed Becker made a "crucial contribution in the
preparation and execution of the attack," in which Buback, his driver
Wolfgang Göbel and a judicial officer, Georg Wurster were killed.
A motorcycle pulled up to Buback's Mercedes at a stoplight, and a
passenger on the back opened fire with an automatic weapon.
Prosecutors had said Becker's genetic material was found on several
envelopes of letters claiming responsibility for the murders.
Buback's son Michael said he was astonished that ''only abetting was
now being talked about.'' Like the prosecutors, he thought the
evidence of her direct involvement was strong, he said.
Becker was released from jail some 20 years ago after serving several
years for RAF-related crimes.
Former RAF members Christian Klar, Knut Folkerts, Günter Sonnenberg,
Brigitte Mohnhaupt have all been convicted collectively of the Buback
murder, but authorities remain unsure of who fired the deadly shots.
Michael Buback, the son of the murdered prosecutor has repeatedly
named Verena Becker as a possible suspect.
The Baader-Meinhof Gang, named after its founders Andreas Baader and
Ulrike Meinhof, mounted a violent campaign against what it considered
was the oppressive capitalist state of West Germany from 1977 to 1982.
It targeted the German elite and US military bases in Germany and is
suspected of killing 34 people. The group officially disbanded in 1998.
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