Friday, July 6, 2012

Red Army Faction militant Becker jailed for 1977 murder

Former Red Army Faction member Verena Becker at her trial in Stuttgart, Germany, on 14 May 2012

A German court has handed down a four-year jail term to a former militant in the far-left Red Army Faction (RAF) over the murder of a top prosecutor.

Verena Becker was an accessory to the 1977 murder of West Germany's chief federal prosecutor, Siegfried Buback, the court ruled. His driver and a bodyguard also died in the ambush.

Becker, 59, denied any involvement. Two-and-a-half years already served in jail will be cut from her sentence.

The killer has not yet been uncovered.

The ambush happened in the south-western city of Karlsruhe. At the time the RAF was waging a violent campaign against the West German state, targeting prominent establishment figures and US military bases.

Mr Buback and his two aides were shot dead by a passenger on a motorcycle as their car was waiting at traffic lights.

Becker went on trial in Stuttgart in 2010, accused of playing a crucial role in planning and carrying out the murder. She was arrested the month after the murders.

The RAF, also called the Baader-Meinhof gang, killed more than 30 people. The group broke up more than 10 years ago.



Source & Image : BBC

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