Germany's Most Wanted Woman Jailed After Three Decades on the Run

Daniela Klette, a former member of Germany's defunct Red Army Faction (RAF) militant group, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after evading authorities for over three decades. The 67-year-old was found guilty in May 2026 of several charges, including aggravated robbery, extortion, and weapons violations. These crimes were committed between 1999 and 2016, following the official disbandment of the RAF, and were reportedly carried out to finance her life underground.

Klette, once considered one of Europe's most wanted women, was apprehended in Berlin in February 2024 after a public tip-off led to her capture. During her arrest, authorities discovered a cache of weapons and forged documents in her apartment, where she had been living under a pseudonym. Her trial, which lasted 14 months, did not include charges related to earlier terrorist activities due to expired statutes of limitations.

Two alleged accomplices, Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg, who are also former RAF members, remain at large. The Red Army Faction, also known as the Baader-Meinhof group, was a far-left militant organization active in West Germany from the 1970s to the 1990s, responsible for numerous violent crimes.