Overview
- A regional court in Verden on May 27 found Daniela Klette guilty of aggravated robbery, attempted aggravated robbery, weapons offences, kidnapping for ransom and aggravated extortion and handed her a 13‑year prison term.
- Klette was arrested in February 2024 after more than 30 years living under an assumed name in Berlin when an investigative journalist identified her using facial‑recognition tools.
- Police searches of her flat yielded weapons, ammunition, a fake rocket launcher, forged identity papers, wigs, gold and about US$279,000 in cash, evidence prosecutors said linked her to robberies that raised more than US$2.3 million between 1999 and 2016.
- Two alleged co‑defendants, Ernst‑Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg, remain on the run and prosecutors are also exploring separate historical allegations tied to attacks from 1990–1993 that could bring further charges.
- The case revives accountability for the Red Army Faction’s later‑generation fugitives, drew courtroom protests from supporters and prompted a defence challenge to whether the seized items prove Klette’s role in the robbery series.