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Ex-RAF terrorist found guilty

July 6, 2012

Former RAF terrorist Verena Becker has been sentenced to four years in prison for her role in the murder of Federal Prosecutor Siegfried Buback 35 years ago. The verdict comes after an almost 20-month trial.

https://p.dw.com/p/15Sdr
Verena Becker
Image: dapd

The regional court in Stuttgart handed Becker a four-year prison sentence for being an accessory to Siegfried Buback's murder in 1977.

Because of a previous sentence, the judges ruled that the 59-year-old Becker had already served two-and-a-half years of her prison term, meaning she will go behind bars for a further one-and-a-half years.

The court was unable to ascertain who actually carried out the murder in Karlsruhe.

Buback, Germany's top attorney, was shot dead in his government car on April 7, 1977 by hooded assailants on a motorcycle. The two drivers of his car were also killed, and the unknown assailants escaped.

Picture of assassination scene showing car and bodies
Buback's murder came at the height of the RAF's campaignImage: dapd

The 57-year-old federal prosecutor had just been in office for three years and had declared war on the left-wing Red Army Faction (RAF). Buback had planned to stop the extremists, whose actions had brought Germany to the brink of a state of emergency.

Michael Buback, his son and joint plaintiff, had insisted throughout the trial that Becker herself had fired the lethal shots. The court was unable to find evidence to support his belief.

tj/mz (dpa, Reuters)