Verena Becker

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Verena Becker
Born (1952-07-31) July 31, 1952 (age 71)
Movement 2 June, Red Army Faction

Verena Becker (born 31 July 1952) is a former

Movement 2 June and later the Red Army Faction
.

Terrorist career

While a student, Becker initially joined

Southern Yemen as part of the exchange deal proposed by the Peter Lorenz kidnappers.[2]

At some point between 1975 and 1976, Becker returned to West Germany. She became involved in the

, and it is likely that she came in contact with him whilst in Yemen, as he was there at the same time.

Arrest

In

Imprisonment

In late 1977 Becker was sentenced to life imprisonment[3] for her involvement in a criminal organisation. In prison she took part in hunger strikes and was force-fed.[4]

She was released from prison in 1989 after being pardoned by Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker.[1] She lived anonymously in Germany, under an assumed name.

Assassination of Siegfried Buback and rearrest

On 7 April 1977, Siegfried Buback, then the chief federal prosecutor for the

Bundesgerichtshof in Karlsruhe; while Buback's Mercedes was stopped at a traffic light a motorcycle pulled alongside and the passenger on the rear of the motorcycle opened fire with an automatic weapon at the vehicle. There is some evidence[5] suggesting that Becker took part in the assassination of Buback, though she herself claims Stefan Wisniewski was the one who killed him. DNA evidence however indicates that Becker probably did not take part in the killing.[6] The case has been reopened[7] and Becker was re-arrested on charges relating to the assassination on 28 August 2009.[8] In April 2010, following examination of DNA on a letter claiming responsibility for the murder, she was charged for the 1977 murder.[9] In July 2012, she was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of Buback and sentenced to four years in prison.[10]

Alleged informant activities

Some observers, chiefly former fellow member of the

]

References

  1. ^ a b Stuberger, Ulf G. "Ex-RAF-Terroristin Verena Becker: Versteckt zwischen Sonnenblumen". Faz.net.
  2. ^ , Page. 334
  3. ^ "Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF) Documents". Archived from the original on 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  4. ^ "Armed Struggle in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1967-1988". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2008.
  5. ^ "Who Assassinated Siegfried Buback?: Germany Revisits RAF Terrorism Verdict".
  6. ^ "DNA Tests Rule Out Buback Murder Suspect | DW | 23.07.2008".
  7. ^ (in German)Prantl, Heribert: Wisniewski? Stefan Wisniewski? Archived October 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Süddeutsche Zeitung online. Accessed January 3, 2008.
  8. ^ "Fall Buback: Ex-RAF-Terroristin Becker festgenommen".
  9. ^ "German gang member charged with 1977 murder". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 April 2010.
  10. ^ "Red Army Faction militant Becker jailed for 1977 murder". BBC News. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Dubiose Stasi-Akte über Verena Becker".
  12. ^ "Terrorist on German spy service payroll".