"They have me"

RAF terror: Klette is said to have warned Garweg

Ex-RAF terrorist Daniela Klette with security forces

(Bild: APA/dpa/Uli Deck)

The former RAF terrorist Daniela Klette is said to have warned her accomplice Burkhard Garweg when she was arrested. "They have me," she wrote in a cell phone message, as reported by German media. This would explain why Garweg has not used his cell phone since February 26.

He has been on the run ever since (see video above). "We know that he pretended to be Martin. He had various aliases, most of which began with Martin," said Friedo de Vries, head of the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office (LKA) leading the investigation, to Die Zeit. According to him, Garweg had already been thinking about what he would do in this case before Klette's arrest. "He will have had a plan (...) in mind." The investigator suspects that Garweg has created a new legend for himself - with false personal details, a constructed curriculum vitae and contacts who confirm this.

Before his escape, Garweg probably lived in a caravan on a construction site in Berlin, which is mainly used by the alternative scene. When the police discovered it, Garweg was no longer there.

Ex-RAF terrorist Daniela Klette with security forces

(Bild: APA/dpa/Uli Deck)

Exact contact still unclear
The former terrorist is believed to have been in contact with Daniela Klette until the end. Klette was found following tips from her neighbors - the police had asked for her with a photo. During the arrest, the officers are said to have allowed the 65-year-old to use the toilet in her apartment. She used this to warn Garweg and then flushed the SIM card of her cell phone down the toilet. This could explain why the ex-RAF terrorist had not used his device since February 26. The exact circumstances of the contact have not yet been clarified.

Burkhard Garweg

(Bild: AFP)

Criticism of the police grows louder
The Berlin police union criticized their colleagues in Lower Saxony unusually harshly on Thursday: "Our question marks are getting bigger and bigger and it is clear that the LKA (State Criminal Police Office) of Lower Saxony, which is in charge, must review this operation self-critically. In view of everything that was found on Ms. Klette, it is pure luck that she was not waiting behind the door with the bazooka and that none of our colleagues were injured." Apparently, the woman still posed a great danger.

In view of everything that was found on Ms. Klette, it's pure luck that she didn't wait behind the door with the bazooka and that none of our colleagues were injured.

Berliner Gewerkschaft der Polizei

In Berlin, there would have been special units "to ensure that an RAF terrorist does not help a fellow terrorist to escape." The Berlin police spoke of "going it alone." Klette, Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub were part of the RAF commando level. They are accused of robberies with firearms, Klette also of two counts of attempted murder and explosives attacks. The left-wing extremist terrorist organization Rote Armee Fraktion carried out numerous attacks and killed people until 1991; it was declared disbanded in 1998.

Demonstrations for left-wing terrorists
A section of the population in Germany is currently showing solidarity with the three suspected left-wing terrorists. Following a controversial demonstration for RAF members in hiding and in prison in Berlin with around 600 participants, a group has announced another rally for Sunday in Vechta - the motto is "Solidarity with Daniela." According to the organizing team, Klette is in the women's prison in Vechta.