JURIST - Paper Chase: Germany court grants parole to former Red Army Faction leader

[JURIST] A Stuttgart court on Monday granted parole for Christian Klar, a leader of the militant Red Army Faction (RAF) [advocacy website], after Klar served 26 years in prison on nine counts of murder and 11 counts of attempted murder. The court found no grounds [BBC report] on which continue to detain him, and Klar will be released in January. The RAF, commonly known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang [BBC backgrounder], was a leftist group that targeted political and financial institutions and personnel, killing 34 people between 1968 and 1998. Among Klar's victims were a federal prosecutor and the head of the Dresdner Bank [corporate website]. Klar, whom the court no longer considers dangerous, will remain on parole for five years. Der Spiegel has local coverage.

In 2007, Klar called for the defeat of capitalism [Der Spiegel report] one month before appealing for clemency. The statement created intense political pressure that ultimately forced [Der Spiegel report] German President Horst Kohler [official website] to deny him clemency [JURIST report]. Other prominent RAF members, including Brigitte Mohnhaupt and Eve Haule [JURIST reports], have also been paroled in recent years.

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