Ex-member of far-left German terror group on trial after years on run

High security was in place at a courtroom in northern Germany on Tuesday as the trial of a former member of a disbanded far-left terrorist organization began.

Daniela Klette is on trial at the Verden Regional Court on charges of attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms and aggravated robbery allegedly committed during more than 30 years on the run.

The 66-year-old was part of the Red Army Faction (RAF), a well-known German terrorist group that was founded in 1968 and remained active well into the 1990s.

Due to security reasons, the trial is taking place in a secure room at the Higher Regional Court in Celle, near Hanover.

A dpa reporter on the scene saw police and judicial officers securing the building armed with machine pistols, with sniffer dogs also in operation.

Around 50 people gathered outside the court in support of Klette, carrying banners calling for "freedom for political prisoners."

Klette is accused of committing a number of crimes after going underground in the late 1980s along with accomplices Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg, who are still at large.

She was detained in Berlin in 2024 following a tip-off from a member of the public.

The trio allegedly targeted cash-in-transit vans and supermarkets in northern and western Germany between 1999 and 2016 to finance their life on the run.

They reportedly stole more than €2.7 million ($2.9 million) in the process.

Klette is expected to submit a plea after prosecutors presented the indictment against her.

The proceedings only involve suspected offences committed after the RAF disbanded in 1998.

Klette has also been accused of involvement in three RAF attacks between 1990 and 1993, which could result in separate charges including attempted murder.

More than 30 people were killed in Germany in attacks by the RAF.