Accused left-wing extremists face trial in Berlin after years on run

Almost exactly 30 years after a failed bomb attack on a prison building in Berlin, two suspected members of the left-wing extremist group "Das Komitee" have gone on trial in the German capital.

The defendants in their 60s, identified only as Peter K and Thomas W according to German privacy laws, returned to Germany for the trial after years living in Venezuela, as part of an apparent plea deal.

Prosecutors brought charges against the alleged extremists in December, on suspicion of having conspired to cause an explosive detonation.

Prosecutors say the pair and a third person, who has since died, formed the left-wing extremist group in autumn 1994 at the latest.

Their aim was to bring about socio-political change through arson and explosive attacks on state institutions.

According to the indictment, they planned an attack on a prison for deportees that was under construction on the south-eastern outskirts of Berlin in April 1995.

They are said to have filled more than 120 kilograms of explosives into propane gas cylinders and prepared them with time fuses.

The attack itself did not take place: the explosives were to be reloaded in a car park near the detention centre - but a police patrol that happened to be driving past intervened. The men fled.

They were on the run for years, and tracked down almost 20 years later to Venezuela.

An extradition request from Germany was denied, as the two men were granted asylum in Brazil.

However, the duo have since returned to Germany as part of a plea bargain, according to lawyer Lukas Theune.