German police release new video of wanted far-left militant
September 11, 2024
German police officials on Wednesday published a new video and photos that they say show one of the most wanted people on their radar — a member of a now-defunct extremist group Red Army Faction.
The terror suspect is Burkhard Garweg.
The new evidence was uncovered following the arrest of former RAF member Daniela Klette in Berlin in February.
The new photos and video are only a small part of 17 terabytes of digital material that detectives uncovered at the time.
Authorities said they are also closing in on a third member of the far-left militant group— Ernst-Volker Staub.
The trio, who belonged to the so-called "third generation" of the RAF, carried out notorious murders and bombings in Germany in the 1970s and 80s.
They went underground after the group was disbanded in 1998, with authorities saying the three committed violent robberies while they were on the run.
Authorities say they could be linked to at least 13 big crimes since the time they went into hiding. Damages amount to an estimated €2.7 million ($3million).
Police release new video to the public
The new video of Garweg, which was broadcast on German television as part of a true crime program on Wednesday evening, is believed to be a video from 2020.
It shows the now 56-year-old in a caravan park speaking to the camera and wishing someone called "Karin" success in an unspecified exam.
Detectives say the man's mannerisms, gestures and accent leave no doubt in their mind that the video shows the person they've been looking for. They believe Garweg lives in Germany.
The photos published as stills from the police video show what they say is Garweg's reflection on a window in a flat in the town of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony. Authorities say the site was used by Garweg and alleged accomplices.
Previous investigations revealed that Garweg lived in Berlin's Neukölln neighborhood .
He spent time with his partner there between 2008 and 2016. He has also spent time in Hamburg.
RAF terror suspects 'remain at large' – police
In addition to several armed hold-ups of cash transports and supermarkets between 1999 and 2016, the three are believed to have robbed supermarket cash offices at gun point in Elmshorn in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein in 2014 and the northwestern city of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony in 2015.
Garweg and Staub are accused of robbing a shopping center in Löhne-Ulenburg in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2009.
The three are under investigation for crimes including aggravated robbery and attempted murder as well as abduction for extortion.
"The perpetrators remain at large," according to State Office of Criminal Investigations (LKA) in Lower Saxony.
LKA published fake Spanish identification documents which they believe Klette used to rent apartments near the locations of crimes under the names "Sarah Lopez Körner" and "Lucia Berger Costa."
The landlords of the properties are also on the wanted list.
mf/rm (dpa, AFP)