Isolated, monitored, without books
RAF terrorist Klette complains about prison conditions
March 22, 2024, 6:31 p.m
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Almost a month ago, Daniela Klette was arrested in her apartment in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Today the former RAF terrorist sits in the women’s prison in Vechta. According to her lawyer, she has no contact with fellow inmates and is constantly under video surveillance. The lawyer announces a lawsuit.
The lawyer for former RAF terrorist Daniela Klette has criticized the prison conditions for the 65-year-old in the women’s prison in Vechta. Klette is under video surveillance almost all day and is also completely isolated, said Berlin criminal defense attorney Lukas Theune. In addition, books and newspapers previously approved by the judiciary were not delivered to his client. “You don’t even give her a ballpoint pen,” says Theune. “We will take legal action against the prison conditions,” he announced.
Klette had gone into hiding for decades and was arrested in Berlin-Kreuzberg at the end of February. She belonged to the so-called third generation of the left-wing extremist terrorist organization Red Army Faction (RAF), which carried out numerous attacks and killed people until 1991. The search continues for their alleged accomplices Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub. The 65-year-old is now in custody in the women’s prison in Vechta.
Surveillance for suicide prevention reasons?
According to her defense attorney, the strict measures for her were not ordered by the examining judge. They were carried out at the instigation of the prison itself, said Theune. The lawyer represented members of the Last Generation climate group as well as members of the left-wing autonomous scene in Berlin on several occasions.
The “Tagesspiegel” wrote that judicial circles said that video surveillance could also be useful for suicide prevention reasons – especially with a view to suicides by former RAF prisoners. However, Theune considers this to be a false claim: his client is not at risk of suicide.
The Verden public prosecutor’s office responsible for the proceedings wrote to the “Tagesspiegel” upon request: The accused was being shielded from the other prisoners, otherwise she could circumvent the letter and telephone checks. There is no information about the detailed conditions of detention, as this affects, among other things, the personal rights of the accused.